A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.
Homelessness
London
Oct 2020
CRASH Patrons provide a much-needed home for people recovering from homelessness and addiction in London
The need
Kairos Community Trust help homeless men and women who have been homeless and have substance misuse issues. They offer five key services as the steppingstones to recovery – detox, residential rehab, day programme rehab, supported housing and aftercare. Homelessness and addiction are twin problems, and Kairos believe that the journey to recovery begins in a safe, secure environment which people can call home.
Kairos desperately needed more space for people who have been homeless, and who are recovering from addiction, to stay and call their home.
The CRASH solution
Kairos applied to CRASH for help to increase the capacity of one of their move-on houses, which provide much needed accommodation for people who have been homeless and are recovering from addiction. With CRASH’s support, a two storey extension was built onto the rear of the property, transforming the three-bed house into an 8-bedroom, 5 bathroom home.
As well as creating more bedrooms, a new lounge and kitchen were also added.
Kairos also own the two adjacent properties, and together all three now form a hub of 20 post-rehab supported rooms for homeless people in recovery from addictions that truly feels like a home.
Before & After:
Before & After:
How CRASH Patrons helped
CRASH Patrons: AECOM, Arcadis, Areen Design, Dulux Trade, Forterra, Geberit, Hanson, Knauf and Lords Builders Merchants donated their professional expertise and products to improve the communal facilities and to create the additional bedroom spaces for residents.
- The value of gift in kind support from CRASH Patrons and supporters came to £39,163.
- CRASH awarded a grant to support the project bringing the total value of support to £79,163.
The Impact
“All stages of this development have been supported by CRASH: the architects designing, planning, getting planning permission and working with Building Control at Brent throughout the build; the extraordinary provision of materials and a grant from CRASH Patron companies…it is so reassuring to have such professional, dedicated and kind people giving real, genuine, quantifiable help. The transformation of this house has been truly extraordinary: beautiful spacious rooms, comfortable living/dining area, a new purpose built, fully equipped kitchen and a garden with huge potential for relaxation and enjoyment. The house is now full and supporting residents in recovery from homelessness and addiction. From concept to completion, the CRASH input and support has been immense and incredibly reassuring. This is a CRASH house – it’s the only way of saying it.”
Director at Kairos Community Trust
Materials donated by CRASH Patron companies
