Nationwide Foundation support boosts Empty Homes project

Action Homeless has been given a grant of £140,000 from the Nationwide Foundation to bring long-term empty homes in Leicester back into use to provide genuinely affordable and good quality homes to local people who most need them.

The grant will enable Action Homeless to transform four empty properties into refurbished, safe and secure homes for at least 16 formerly homeless people. The grant comes as a major boost for Action Homeless, who have already renovated 20 empty properties in Leicester, creating homes for 56 individuals and families since 2012.

Mark Grant, Action Homeless’ chief executive says: “We are extremely thankful to the Nationwide Foundation; their grant will enable us to continue in our mission to address the huge lack of affordable housing in Leicester whilst bringing some of the 5000 empty homes in the city back into use.”

In addition, the projects funded by the Nationwide Foundation give local people with experience of homelessness opportunities to gain new skills through volunteering as a way of supporting them into paid employment.

The Nationwide Foundation is an independent funder which is committed to creating decent affordable homes. One of the ways it does this is by funding local, community-led housing projects. The grant given to Action Homeless is part of £1 million in funding which the Nationwide Foundation is distributing for empty properties.

Leigh Pearce, the Nationwide Foundation’s chief executive says: “Across the UK there are many empty properties which could be transformed into decent homes for people in housing need. At a time when so many people are struggling to find a genuinely affordable home, it is absurd that properties are left empty. The Nationwide Foundation’s grant to Action Homeless, will deliver much needed housing in Leicester.”