£10,000 funding to help people feel at home

Action Homeless are excited to announce that we have received a grant of £10,000 from The B&Q Foundation which will be used to redecorate and add home comforts to a range of our properties to help people feel at home in temporary accommodation. Funding was granted through B&Q and the Neighbourly platform, and work will be carried out over the next 6 months, benefiting approximately 100 people experiencing homelessness. We have 50 properties across the city of Leicester, and funding will pay for decorating materials and home accessories such as rugs, photo frames and soft furnishings.

Homelessness is a very traumatic experience, and the temporary accommodation that we provide is an essential first step in breaking the cycle of homelessness and enabling people to achieve a sense of home and belonging. Many people come to use after time spent rough sleeping, others have spent long periods sofa surfing or have had to flee in an emergency due to domestic violence. This means that people come to us with very little in the way of personal possessions. We work hard to create environments which are warm, welcoming and safe.

Providing homely accommodation, even it is on a temporary basis, allows people to settle more quickly. It enhances their wellbeing, improves mental health and means they feel secure enough to address some of the causes and consequences of their homelessness.

A portion of the funding will be used at Bridge House, our women’s refuge, which houses women and children feeling domestic violence. We will also be distributing the funding across our range of temporary accommodation in the city, completing painting and decorating works in various bedrooms and communal spaces. The grant from B&Q will also be used to ensure our spaces have a homely feel and are welcoming to the people who are living there. Funding will also allow us to freshen up spaces and add some soft furnishings, wall art and home accessories to help people achieve a sense of ‘home’. Our social enterprise Action Trust will work alongside volunteers and professionals to complete the transformations in our properties. Action Trust provide volunteering placements, training and employment to people with lived experience of homelessness.