Press Release

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11th October 2011

Salisbury’s new homeless hostel prepares to welcome its new residents

Representatives of the partner agencies and funders visit the newly completed hostel L to R: Jo Curson (Head of Development, GreenSquare Group), Mischi Wilk (Area Manager, HCA), Andrew Lord (Chief Executive, Alabaré), Cllr Christopher Williams (Portfolio Holder for Communities and Housing, Wiltshire Council).

After £4.5million and 4 years in the planning, fundraising and building, Alabaré Place is complete and getting ready to welcome new residents for the first time.  This week it is opening its doors to stakeholders and members of the local community giving them the opportunity to have a look around, prior to residents moving in at the end of the month.

The project has been made possible thanks to a partnership between South West charity Alabaré Christian Care & Support and housing group GreenSquare, and investment from Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), Places of Change and Wiltshire Council.

It is hoped that the new hostel will support around 50 people per year in Salisbury who might otherwise be homeless or living on the streets.

The brand new 30-bedroom hostel will provide high quality accommodation and a range of purpose built training facilities in an environmentally friendly building. The ethos of the hostel will be based on the 'Places of Change' programme, which encourages hostels to engage residents in meaningful activity within the local community; involve residents in the development of services; develop well trained and motivated staff; and provide a quality physical environment. It was supported with investment of almost £1.3m from the HCA’s Places of Change programme, which seeks to improve services for people who are homeless.

An official opening ceremony for the new Alabaré Place will be held in the New Year.

Andrew Lord, Chief Executive at Alabaré, said “We are delighted that Alabaré Place is finished and ready to welcome its first residents.  The new buildings will give us the perfect platform from which to be able to support vulnerable adults through the problems they are facing and forward into successful independent living.  We hope to be able to significantly reduce the number of people facing the heartbreaking situation of homelessness in our community in the future.”

“It’s great to be delivering this flagship scheme for Salisbury that will make a real difference to local people who find themselves in need of this type of accommodation,” said Jo Curson, Head of Development at GreenSquare. “It's genuinely exciting to see this high quality development successfully completed.”

John Thomson, deputy leader at Wiltshire Council, said: “It is important that we are doing everything we can to support vulnerable people and eradicate homelessness. Alabaré Place will help significantly with this, and I am very pleased we are a part of this important project.”
HCA area manager Mischi Wilk said said: “It's great to be able to see this vitally important project complete. It will make an important difference the lives of people who need support.

“Projects like this provide a vital foundation to enable people progress in their lives and hopefully move into a home of their own one day. I’m really pleased that we have been able to support this project.”

-Ends-

For more information or to arrange an interview call Jo Smith or Claire Sime on 01722 413724

Alabaré Place is a project developed in partnership between Alabaré Christian Care & Support and Westlea Housing, part of the GreenSquare Group.  It has been kindly funded by Homes and Communities Agency, Places of Change and Wiltshire Council amongst others.

Alabaré Christian Care and Support is a charity that works with homeless and vulnerable people.  We have more than 40 projects across Wiltshire, Hampshire, Plymouth, Bournemouth, Devon, Dorset, Bristol and North Somerset providing a range of services including drop-in centres, supported accommodation and advice and training.  We work with the homeless, those at risk of becoming homeless, ex-offenders, ex-Service personnel, people with drug and alcohol issues, young people, vulnerable women, individuals with learning disabilities and people with mental health conditions.  Our vision is a society where everyone has the opportunity to enjoy a fulfilling life.

www.alabare.co.uk

Alabaré Christian Care Centres operates under the trading name of Alabaré Christian Care & Support.  Our legal and Registered Charity name remains Alabaré Christian Care Centres (Registered Charity No 1006504).

GreenSquare Group brings together Oakus Estates, Oxford Citizens Housing Association, Westlea Housing and Tidestone Ltd. We are a pioneering group focused on residents, neighbourhoods, and communities; building homes and places where people want to live in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, and Gloucestershire.

www.greensquaregroup.com

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England.  Our vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas. 

Places of Change is an £80m capital improvement funding programme managed by the Homes and Communities Agency, which seeks to improve services for people who are homeless. It aims to identify, encourage, engage and release their potential to enable them to move on with their lives. It encourages service users to get involved in services that will help them turn their lives around.

Wiltshire Council

www.wiltshire.gov.uk