Caritas charity looks to create a residential area for the homeless
THE Caritas charity is hoping to raise £1m. and find land on which it can create a supported residential area for people without a home.
Its plan is for a community of up to 24 units, each with a single bedroom, providing housing for up to two years.
This will need a site of about 1,000sq. m on which to place pre-built modular units, with 12 going in at first. It is hoped that the support will be found to get the current project off the ground within 12-24 months.
A States report on the indicators of poverty in 2023 revealed that 1.8% of the population – more than 1,000 people – lacked secure housing.
‘The true extent of the crisis may be even greater, as many individuals are “sofa surfing” or living in makeshift shelters such as bunkers,’ said the charity.
The Caritas Community Charitable Trust was set up in 2007 with the goal of establishing a residential community to help people in difficulty, distress or need.
A cafe in Mill Street was opened in 2014, which was operated by the charity for several years before being split off as a separate charity some eight years later.
‘[At this point] as Caritas we decided to re-focus on our original mission to build a residential community,’ said chairman Graham Merfield.
The charity has been working on this for a couple of years and has visited several charitable communities in the UK to see how the issue was being addressed.
While the original idea was to establish a residential community and a social enterprise together, he said to do this would probably cost more than £5m. and take five years.
It was after a visit to see modular homes in the UK that the charity realised that using these could get the project off the ground quickly.
The 4m by 8m units are entirely created at source, complete with kitchen and bathroom fittings.
‘We want to go a step beyond just putting a roof over someone’s head,’ said Mr Merfield.
‘We want to build a community where people feel supported and to transition from where they were dealing with housing insecurity.’
A dedicated community leader would oversee the homes.
Single men over the age of 25 seemed to be the section of the population most in need of this kind of support.
Caritas had considered converting a former hotel or care home and had looked at some properties, but Mr Merfield said that significant rebuilding would have been needed.
n Anyone able to support the charity can contact office@caritas.org.gg. Islanders can also donate via the link on caritas.org.gg.
