A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.
The Kairos house that CRASH Corporate Patrons built
Kairos Community Trust is dedicated to helping homeless men and women with drug and alcohol problems. They do this through their abstinence-support hostel, rehab programmes and their network of 29 supported move-on houses, most of which are in south London.
Addiction and homelessness are twin problems, and Kairos believe that the journey to recovery from drugs and alcohol begins in a safe, secure environment.
Core services provide are: sober hostel accommodation, day programme rehab, residential rehab, supported housing and aftercare. Each service can be accessed separately or they can be combined to build individual pathways to recovery over a period of time. All services are delivered by experienced teams of qualified therapists, support workers and administrators.
The need
CRASH has been working with Kairos Community Trust for many years supporting a number of their development projects. Therefore, when Kairos asked CRASH for help with a 6 bedroom property that will provide move-on accommodation for people who have completed their rehabilitation programme, we were happy to help.
The CRASH solution
CRASH Corporate Patron 8build worked with Kairos to ensure that the property met all necessary standards for a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO).
John Sisk & Sons, who were working on a construction project locally, offered to project manage the extension. They brought Green Tea Architects onboard and managed the entire planning process including the submission of plans to Lewisham Council.
How CRASH Corporate Patrons helped
Once planning was secured, CRASH Corporate Patrons Buildbase donated bricks, British Gypsum plasterboard, Bauder roofing and Dulux Trade donated paint. CRASH supporters BAXI donated a boiler and Johnson Tiles donated flooring.
- The value of gift in kind support from CRASH Corporate Patrons and supporters came to £10,898.
- A cash grant of £20,000 from CRASH brings the total value of support to £30,898.
The social impact
“We now have a spacious kitchen that is much more conducive to shared living, an area for a dining table and a glass door to the garden so there is more light. The relationship between CRASH and Kairos has helped the charity develop our buildings to provide quality accommodation which gives a clear message to our residents that they are valued and respected and that with Kairos they are ‘at home’. Thank you.”
Director at Kairos