A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.
East Sussex
Homelessness
Apr 2023
New air conditioning units are a cool move for homelessness charity
Emmaus Hastings & Rother help people who are homeless to regain their self-esteem and find a positive way to move forward with their lives through their community of 23 bedrooms and three social enterprises.
Social enterprises are a key part of Emmaus’s mission, they offer meaningful work to formerly homeless people who find themselves at Emmaus, and provide the charity’s main source of income, allowing them to be self-sufficient.
Since 2011, CRASH has worked with Emmaus Hastings & Rother to upgrade their facilities and services to reduce running costs and provide a home for people who need it. Read about the previous transformation.
The fitted AC unit in Emmaus’ superstore
Corporate Patron NG Bailey fitted the AC units
External image of the superstore
The need
In the summer months, Emmaus Hastings & Rother are faced with severe over-heating of their charity superstore, which makes for difficult working conditions and means some customers leave the store to cool down.
As the charity’s main source of income, something needed to be done to regulate the temperature of the superstore, which is where CRASH came in…
The solution
CRASH visited the building followed by Corporate Patron, NG Bailey, who advised the best course of action would be to install air conditioning units to help regulate the superstores temperature in the summer months.
Come the warmer months, Emmaus Hastings & Rother will be able to make full use of their new air conditioning units, and the team can relax knowing they have the services available to cool the building if needed – providing a better shopping experience for customers and a comfortable workplace for staff.
The impact
NG Bailey engaged their supply chain and generously completed this project free of charge with no cost for the homelessness charity.
- The Gift in Kind value from donated expertise and products on the project totalled £12,915
“Working in collaboration with our supply chain partner Premier AC, I am proud of the works our team at NG Bailey have undertaken to support CRASH and Emmaus in Hastings. Since becoming a Corporate Patron, we have been eager to demonstrate that social value is at the heart of our business, and we look forward to being able continue this support for people who are homeless and children and adults with a life-limiting illness.”
Pre-Contract Director at NG Bailey
“Our charity superstore is the centre of our community; it provides meaningful work to the residents who find themselves at Emmaus and is our primary source of income. Ensuring our building is a comfortable place in summer will make a huge difference to the people who work there and to our customers. Thank you so much to CRASH and their Corporate Patrons for investing in our community and helping people who are homeless get back on their feet.”
Community Manager at Emmaus Hastings & Rother
