A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.
Homelessness
South Yorkshire
Sep 2012
CRASH Helps Homelessness Charity Open Its New Doors
A homeless charity in Rotherham, which was at risk of becoming homeless itself, opened the doors to its new premises on 30th August.
The need
Shiloh, which helps adults living in poverty, oppression and homelessness to rebuild their lives by providing food, support and information about health and housing, was put at risk when its premises were announced unfit for purpose in September 2010 for no longer meeting fire regulations.
The 20 year old charity faced having to close its doors for good, until Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council offered it the use of a disused gymnasium. Unfortunately the building was a complete shell and needed to be entirely renovated and fitted out in order to make it viable for Shiloh’s use.
The solution
It was at this point that repairs and maintenance service provider Morrison came forward and offered its assistance as part of its community development programme working closely with CRASH.
How patrons helped
The total project costs amounted around £95,000 of which Shiloh raised £15,000 and the remaining £70,000 was donated by CRASH and Morrison through the provision of professional expertise, supplies, labour and some cash funding. In total Morrison’s team donated over 600 hours of staff time to the nine month project, including project managing the build and providing all the labour and tools free of charge.
CRASH patron company Galliford Try provided the services of a Quantity Surveyor, Knauf Drywall and supporters Altro, Baxi, PPG, Premdor and Saniflow supplied materials free of charge and CRASH awarded a cash grant of £9,000.
Work on the building started last December and was completed at the beginning of August. During the course of the work, Morrison’s team completely transformed the premises; building new rooms, installing laundry facilities, bathroom facilities, a fully functioning catering kitchen and a brand new heating system, as well as completely decorating the premises.
The social impact
Open three days a week, Shiloh provides its ‘guests’, as individuals using the service are called, with access to a wide range of services free of charge, including hot meals, washing facilities, laundry facilities, counselling services and clothing. Due to the tough economic conditions, Shiloh has seen a significant increase in the number of people accessing its services and now provides 300 meals a week.
The new premises has now enabled Shiloh to offer more services than ever before including a new support service to help link its ‘guests’ to other agencies who can help them get their lives back on track.
“Without the labours of love and skill from the workers, and the companies and organisations who have donated their staff, materials and funding for this project, we would not be where we are today – and those who need us most would be worse off. Shiloh is only a small charity but we know we make a big difference to those in need; to have had to shut our doors because of a lack of suitable premises or finance would have been truly devastating for the people who rely on our support and we are so thankful that this has been avoided.”
Administrator at Shiloh
“Over the last nine months our team have spent many hours, including their own free time, to transform this building so it could provide shelter for those most in need in our local community. It has been an amazing project to be involved with and we are all so proud to see it finally opening its new doors and being able to provide fantastic new facilities for the most vulnerable people in Rotherham. Our affiliation with Shiloh will not stop here and we look forward to continuing to support them and see how they put this building to good use.”
Regional Account Director at Morrison
“Shiloh Rotherham is a shining example of how the construction industry pulls together to provide shelter for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. By harnessing the expertise, products and generosity of the construction and property industry, we can make a real, practical difference to homeless men and women.”
Projects and Resource manager at CRASH
“It’s fantastic, so welcoming. It’s such a great place to come and get a cup of tea, have a chat and find out about what is out there for people like me. It gives you hope, this place, that’s what it does, it gives you somewhere where you feel you actually belong.”
Guest at Shiloh
