Phase two: A fantastic first-floor extension at a move-on house for homeless men and women in South London.

Homelessness and addiction are twin problems, and Kairos Community Trust believes that the journey to recovery begins in a safe and secure environment that people can call home.

Kairos helps homeless men and women with drug and alcohol problems through their abstinence-support hostel, rehabilitation programmes and a network of 29 supported move-on houses in London. The move-on houses are vital in a person’s journey from homelessness to independent living.

CRASH and Kairos have a long-standing relationship. With the help of our Corporate Patron companies, we delivered the extensive redevelopment of this move-on house in 2021 to create a new kitchen/diner, bathrooms, counselling rooms and group therapy rooms. The works enlarged and enhanced the property, making it much more welcoming and homely for residents and rehabilitation programme clients.

You can read about phase one of the refurbishment HERE.

The need

Kairos approached CRASH for help with phase two of the redevelopment of this move-on house. The upper floor of the property provides supported accommodation, and the ground floor houses Kairos’ Garden Day Programme, delivering a 12-week recovery and rehabilitation programme to non-residential clients. The six residents only had a kitchen/diner for eating, socialising, relaxing and doing laundry, and they shared a lounge space on the ground floor with staff and visitors. Kairos also needed an office for their team and support workers.

The project

After a call for assistance, CRASH Corporate Patrons and supporters stepped in to help with the first-floor extension to make the residents’ accommodation upstairs self-contained and independent from the therapy rooms of the rehabilitation programmes on the ground floor. They created an open-plan dining/sitting room off the current kitchen and a utility room, giving residents more space and a comfortable dining/lounge area. In addition, we created a new office for staff where they can also hold meetings with residents.

How CRASH Corporate Patrons helped

CRASH Corporate Patron Arcadis, Gardiner & Theobald and Glazing Vision worked together on the project to extend the second floor and improve the facilities offered to residents and clients in the recovery programme.

Arcadis donated a TV and artwork, Gardiner & Theobald donated office furniture, and Glazing Vision supplied and installed a new roof light over the kitchen at a discount.

The social impact

The support for phase two, provided by CRASH and our Corporate Patrons, saved Kairos a huge £41,244 off the final phase two cost; this included:

The significant cost savings will enable Kairos to focus their resources and time on supporting their residents and clients, helping more people on their journey to recovery and independent living for years to come.