The new building
In due course, following the Places of Change initiative, ownership of the hostel building was transferred from Mole Valley District Council to Raven Housing Trust who appointed the London company, Baily Garner to project manage the refurbishment. Baily Garner’s architect, Mark Finch, produced an exciting design to incorporate en-suite single rooms and training space.
Baily Garner: ‘Both individual people and people collectively need the delight, comfort, safety, and the feeling of being special that design can bring.’
The new service
In a climate of cuts, we were grateful to receive increased funding from Surrey Supporting People in order to expand the staff team to meet the needs of a daytime service.
A local Charitable Trust made a significant donation to secure the revenue funding for daytime development and so…
Now it is time, with this partnership, to make the next step. As the newly formed LeatherHead Start, in the context of our up-graded accommodation, we are committed to a vision for change to a holistic 24/7 service for our homeless clients.
We aim to create a daytime programme of support, meaningful activities and training opportunities, working with each client to promote independence and self-esteem to help them gain the skills and confidence necessary to face their future with optimism, find a stake in society and move forward on the journey to independence, by adding value to lives where so much has been lost.
By doing this, LeatherHead Start will empower clients to say that ‘homeless’ is “something that once happened to them, not something they are” (Richard Cunningham, Places Of Change Programme, 2009).
