Hope are celebrating after making a successful bid for funding from Nationwide Building Society for its work to support housing in the Bournemouth area.
Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, has been looking to support charities dealing with the many issues around housing in the South West area, and made £500,000 available to help make a difference across communities across the region.
Now the names of those charities that have secured the grants they applied for have been announced – and Hope Housing Training and Support has been confirmed as one of those that has been successful!
Hope is a Dorset-based charity providing supported housing for 92 single homeless individuals. When residents join from rehabilitation, custody or from the streets, the charity helps and supports them to feel able to move forward into independent, non-supported accommodation and employment, giving them a better quality of life. The aim is to prepare, move and support ten Hope residents out of supported sheltered housing and into their own private independent accommodation.
Nationwide invited applications for grants of up to £50,000 for housing projects that have the potential to strengthen communities and help make a difference in local areas, ranging from innovative new housing, improving conditions, to supporting the most vulnerable. Hundreds of applications were accepted from across the South West area.
Dan Still, Nationwide’s Regional Director for the South West, said:
“We know that there are many people who have been homeless or have experienced family or close friends without a home of their own, so it’s imperative that we do something about this.
Helping people into homes of their own is at the heart of what we do as a building society, which is why we’re making funding available for local housing projects. In fact, we’re making £22 million available for the next over five years across the UK to do just this and ensure everyone has a place fit to call home.”
Julie Berti, CEO of Hope Housing said:
"This is such an exciting opportunity to change the lives of ten very deserving residents. 2019 is our tenth anniversary and we wanted to mark the occasion by doing something fantastic. Our ten for ten campaign will support residents into a home of their own. We are delighted to have been awarded these funds, which will help with supporting these residents before and after their move, as well as funding their initial rent deposit, agency fees, first month’s rent and some basic furniture and essentials for their new home. We have selected the ten participants who have made commendable progress since they came to Hope. They have exhibited a strong recovery, engaged with lour support and most are working, volunteering or in education. They have turned their lives around and we are so happy for them to have this opportunity to start a new life, thanks to the generous support of Nationwide."