The partners involved in the development of the Reconnect Project for homeless people in Burton will be represented at the official launch of the work on site.
The £800 000 project has been inspired by Burton and District YMCA with most of the funding coming from the Government’s Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). They will be represented at the ceremony with the YMCA along with representatives of East Staffordshire Borough Council, Midland Heart the owners of James Court, and Mansell Construction who are main contractors for the redevelopment work.
Burton and District YMCA first recognised a need for this project when it began to support the winter night shelter at New Baptist Church in 2006. This culminated in the ‘Home at Christmas?’ appeal in the run up to Christmas 2009 during which people raised thousands of pounds, some having sampled what it is like to be homeless in mid-November.
The Chairman of Burton and District YMCA, Carl Seager, said, “I’m delighted the work is now beginning in earnest on the site. We have been waiting for this day for some time. I’m pleased on behalf of the people who have shown such a commitment to tackling homelessness in Burton.” Chief Executive Paul Laffey, continued, “I’m confident that all the partners will work to ensure we are ready to open the Reconnect project in early 2011. In the meantime I’m pleased to confirm that New Baptist Church has agreed to operate a temporary winter shelter from November until the James Court facilities are ready, for the fifth year running.”
Michael Wilson from the Places Of Change Programme at the HCA said; “The Burton ‘Places of Change’ scheme shows a strong local commitment to delivering services that will truly help vulnerable and excluded individuals make the move into a more structured and independent lifestyle. We are delighted to have been involved in the partnership and that the development is now underway.”
Graham Bettam, senior project manager at Midland Heart said: “We are looking forward to being able to make a real difference to the services available to homeless people in Burton. The building work will enable far more people to benefit from the service and hopefully empower them to regain their independence.”
For more information, contact Johanne Thomas at the HCA on 0121 234 9916 or email Johanne.thomas@hca.gsx.gov.uk
ENDS
Wednesday 19 May 2010: John Varley, Group Chief Executive of Barclays and Chair of Business in the Community’s (BITC’s) Business Action on Homelessness (BAOH) campaign, yesterday brought together senior business leaders, Government officials and voluntary sector professionals to challenge the stereotypes around homelessness and discuss how collaboratively they might contribute to a step change in the way that homeless services are delivered.