A new housing model has been launched across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. Hope into Action is a national charity that enables investors to buy houses for the homeless. The key to this model is that every house is supported by a local church who provide support and friendship to the tenants such as assistance with paperwork and budgeting skills, eating meals or watching a film together.
Faithworks in partnership with Hope into Action have launched the franchise for this model across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and are looking to oversee more investment to buy more homes.
The keys have been collected for the first home and the aim is to welcome the first tenants shortly after Easter! Support will be provided by a team from Coastline Vineyard Church. Beth, one of the team leaders, explained:
“We are so excited to be a part of this movement that is changing lives in such a valuable, radical way… The change this will make to those moving in is incredible and such a wonderful thing to be a part of, giving people value and hope.”
Every house is linked with a local church for support as part of the 5 year leasing scheme. Churches are supported in turn by an Empowerment Worker who coordinates the links between the tenants and the church and ensures that things run smoothly.
David Chidwick, Faithworks’ Homelessness Projects Manager, explained:
“The journey off the streets can be quite long and hard. There’s more to having a home than just having a room. In these houses we are hoping that our tenants will feel safe, experience friendship, have a purpose and ideally feel at home.”
This is clearly a national issue – the Archbishop of Canterbury has recently spoken about a good home being “Safe, Stable, Sustainable, Sociable, Satisfying”. So, we want to play our part by helping people to move on from temporary accommodation and settle in to a home. We are doing this alongside a wide programme of support run by Faithworks including “StaySafe” and work skills projects like the carpenter’s workshop and the gardening team.
The aim is to purchase another house in Poole within the next few months – this is an opportunity to invest in a new and innovative way. We are looking for investors to support this exciting opportunity. If you or someone you know is interested, you can call David Chidwick to discuss this at Faithworks’ office on: 01202 429037. Alternatively you can find out more online at: https://bcp.hopeintoaction.org.uk/