London City Mission – Webber Street

London City Mission’s (LCM) Webber Street day centre had been providing care, support, food, showers and clothing for the past fifty years to homeless people however; the property was in need of significant refurbishment.

The need

The aim of their 50th anniversary project was to refurbish the basement area of the building thus improving hospitality to guests, providing them with greater dignity and a safer, warmer and more hygienic environment.

The solution

We called upon our patrons to support this project and get the refurbishments underway.

How patrons helped

Through CRASH, Webber Street day centre received professional expertise from EC Harris, AECOM, Child Graddon Lewis Architects and NHBC, materials from British Gypsum, Dulux Trade and Johnson Tiles and a cash grant of £30,000 from Story of Christmas Appeal.

The social impact

After the day centre reopened, Webber Street’s Ministries Director Duncan Cuthill reported that feedback on the improvements from the guests had been “consistently positive”.

The team at Webber Street seek to meet the physical needs of homeless men and women with cooked breakfasts, cups of tea and coffee, hot showers and clothing. These are everyday things that most of us take for granted, but these simple acts of grace are transformative for the guests restoring some of the dignity that life on the streets has taken from them. As one of their guests said, “Normally people look down on you but here, for three hours a day, I can forget I’m homeless.”