Financial advisors Centrus sent a team to help transform one of the schemes we support, and enjoy a special day of volunteering.
15 staff members from Centrus, including some visitors to London from their Dublin office, were able to spend a day volunteering at Acre Lane homelessness scheme in Brixton, helping to refurbish communal areas of the ground floor for the scheme’s homeless residents.
The scheme provides accommodation for 35 homeless individuals with high support needs, such as mental health issues or substance misuse problems. It is vital to provide them with a calm, welcoming environment where they will feel comfortable to meet with staff, tackle personal issues, and get their lives back on track.
As well as brightening several rooms with a fresh coat of paint, the volunteers cleared less-used rooms of old tiles and fixtures to make new storage spaces for the hostel. They also built a variety of furniture for the communal areas, including comfy armchairs and a desk.
Centrus Partner Robert St John said that he was really happy to give something back to the community. As you can see from the group’s smiling faces, they all enjoyed their day.
Scheme manager Karren Ebanks was overwhelmed by the transformation. “We’ve gotten so much done in just one day, it’s fantastic! This might have taken weeks otherwise.”
Once the paint had dried and the flooring had been put in, we took some more photos of the finished rooms.
Karren added that the new look seems to suit the residents: “they are making use of the communal room and we’ve already had a few meetings in there.”
