CRASH project helps homelessness charity provide ‘meaningful privacy’ for residents

Construction charity CRASH, alongside some of its Corporate Patrons, have helped to offer ‘meaningful privacy’ and independence for residents at Winchester Beacon.

Winchester Beacon is open 365 days a year and provides accommodation, food, and vital support services to help break the cycle of homelessness and enable residents to rebuild their lives.

The charity accommodates 60-80 people annually and provides ongoing support to many more, offering guidance during a person’s stay, helping them to plan for an independent future and find a more permanent home.

The charity applied for CRASH’s help to adjust their communal facilities, so that every resident could have a single bedroom and their own bathroom facilities. This included a new accessible bathroom for any residents with specific accessibility needs.

The project involved reconfiguring the shared spaces into single bedrooms and CRASH supporter Black Architecture proposed various design options for the charity to consider.

Corporate Patron Arcadis attended the initial visit and provided a subsequent report, as well as donating the expertise of a Quantity Surveyor to cost the proposed designs.

After careful consideration from the charity, engaging residents and stakeholders, a design was chosen, and Corporate Patron AECOM donated their Project Management expertise to oversee the project.

Corporate Patrons Cundall gave engineering support whilst NG Bailey offered M&E advice.

The former communal bathroom facilities were transformed into single shower rooms, complete with a shower, wash basin and toilet, Corporate Patron Geberit assisted with specification needs and donated products at both free and discounted rates. Drainage was assessed by a Civil Engineer and costed by a Quantity Surveyor from AECOM.

Corporate Patrons British Gypsum donated free of charge plasterboard and moisture resistant boards whilst Dulux Decorator Centre donated the required paint at no cost to the charity. Supporter Altro flooring gave discounted flooring.

Francesca Roberts, Chief Executive at CRASH, said: “Handing over this project at Winchester Beacon is a significant milestone in the CRASH project portfolio, having worked on this project for almost four years, including through the pandemic.

“This transformation epitomises the good will of the construction industry; with a significant number of our Corporate Patrons involved. With extensive collaboration between Corporate Patrons, the benefitting charity and our team at CRASH, it was a true team effort – thank you to all involved, you have made a huge difference to the residents at Winchester Beacon.”

https://www.crash.org.uk/