A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.
Homelessness
London
Oct 2015
CRASH Patrons and Trustees Visit Kairos Project
A warm welcome awaited CRASH Patrons and Trustees at Kairos Community Trust’s move-on house in Eugenia Road, Southwark. The group was invited to see the most recent redevelopment of the property, made possible by the generosity and commitment of CRASH.
The need
Kairos Community Trust reached out to us in need of an extension on the Victorian property. The three-storey vicarage now acts as a move-on house with a total of 11 bedrooms.
The solution
A second bedroom was created as part of internal modifications that also included the installation of a new wet-room style bathroom designed for disabled residents. However, the renovations to part of the property highlighted the need for some attention in the communal areas. One of the residents set to work to bring the original flooring in the hallway back to its former glory as well as giving the front and rear gardens a colourful makeover.
How patrons helped
Areen Design, which received an award for being the Patron providing the greatest amount of materials for CRASH projects 2014-15, worked with Kairos to deliver extensive architectural and planning expertise. The Story of Christmas Appeal gave significant financial support and CRASH sourced building materials to build one bedroom on the site of the disused garage.
CRASH Patron Dulux Trade’s Regional Sales Manager Mike Cobb brought in a team of his colleagues to redecorate the hallway and communal areas of the property which, considering its size was quite a challenge. Dulux Trade’s Stuart Neal helped Mike plan the decorating project as well as taking part in it.
The social impact
“The areas that had to be decorated were in very poor condition and needed a fair bit of preparation. The team put in a terrific effort to get this completed in two days. What really made this a great project though was the genuine appreciation from Kairos Director Mossie Lyons, the team from CRASH and the residents who were absolutely made up with our support and the finished results.”
at Dulux Trade
“It has been one of my aims this year to develop within the buildings we have. The addition of our five new rooms, including these two at Eugenia Road, is the equivalent accommodation in a whole house. We are enormously grateful to CRASH for making it possible for us to provide more homes for the homeless in recovery. My sincere thanks to Mike Cobb and his team. Those eleven men brought a joy, generosity of spirit and outstanding teamwork to the house and in the process transformed the place.”
Director of Kairos
