Residents at a city centre Edinburgh hostel can access much improved facilities with the completion of a major refurbishment programme.
A programme of work to completely renovate the Randolph Crescent Hostel was recently finished, courtesy of City of Edinburgh Council and improvement partner Connaught Partnerships Limited.
The £375,000 project, the first such scheme to transform a hostel undertaken by both the council and Connaught, was completed after six months of works to extensively refurbish the facility.
In addition to the installation of six new en-suite bathrooms and two new kitchens, improvements have been made to the existing bathrooms, overhaul windows and the upgrading of mechanical & electrical systems completed.
The hostel was occupied for all but the initial few weeks of works, which also included the installation of new CCTV, phone lines and digital television - in addition to complete redecoration and new carpeting fitted throughout, making it a much brighter and more welcoming environment.
Randolph Crescent is operated by Services for Communities in the City of Edinburgh Council. Mike Penny, Manager of Assessment, Homelessness and Support section, said:
"Getting the building work brought up to modern standards has given us an opportunity to look again at what we can offer people.
"Instead of simply providing a good place to stay for people who are homeless, we've teamed up with colleagues from NHS Lothian to give people a new start by giving up drink and drugs. We'll also help them find somewhere to stay in the City, and help them get into college or employment. Bringing all these changes together for people who have had real difficulty getting away from homelessness means that they're more likely to be able to cope when they settle into a new home."
Brian Morrow, Connaught director for customer development, said:
"The programme of works at Randolph Crescent offered a unique challenge in that we were working in a city centre location whilst the premises were occupied for much of works, in addition to this being the first such project undertaken by both ourselves and City of Edinburgh Council. However we successfully managed to complete the programme of works on time and within budget whilst causing the minimum disruption to residents."
January is the time when most of us return from a family reunion where we relaxed, had fun and managed to gain a few pounds in the meantime. However, for the majority of Foyer residents this is not the case, and Christmas can be the hardest time of year to go through, not having a family to go to, or even the money to have a meal which marginally resembles anything the rest of us associate with Christmas.
This year, thanks to funding from Virgin Mobile, Foyer residents across the UK were able to celebrate in style. 107 Foyers, benefiting a total of over 4,300 young people, were able to treat their residents to a Christmas in style. Most Foyers chose to prepare a traditional Christmas meal for their residents, with presents, decorations and a Christmas tree, while others decided to go ice skating, sing karaoke or visit their local Christmas market.
Swale Foyer residents decided however to spend the money they had received on hosting an afternoon tea party with music, food, carols and presents for some of the older residents in their local community. This followed from an event the Foyer hosted in October which sought to dispel the myths about young people some older people may have, and established a relationship between the residents and the older generation in their community. The young people enjoyed this event so much they decided to have an event which would involve the older generation. They prepared all the food themselves, bought the presents and invited the local primary school to sing carols.
The money donated by Virgin Mobile will also be used to help produce a leaflet entitled Bridging the Gap, which the residents are working on with the older people. It will contain the stories and memories that the older people have about their area.
Swale Foyer residents are an excellent example of how the younger and older generation in a local community can learn from each other and has helped to break down the barrier that purport to exist between the two generations.
Swale Foyer opened in 1995 and provides bed spaces for 44 young people between the ages of 16-25. It is owned by Casa Housing and Support, which is part of Amicus Horizon. The Foyer has a strong relationship with their local college and has a dedicated training space and provides life skills training and help with getting back into training, education or employment.
Foyer in Focus is contributed by the Foyer Federation. For further information, contact Louise Meincke, Policy and Communications Officer: louise@foyer.net; tel. 020 7430 2212.
