St Basils has been named one of the beneficiaries to receive over £1m, thanks to Heart of England Community Foundation’s Building Better Lives Programme. The grant will be used to improve the charity’s accommodation services in Coventry which will help young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
St Basils works to eliminate youth homelessness and has been supporting young people for over 45 years. The charity provides a holistic range of accommodation and support services to vulnerable young people aged 16-25 and works with around 5000 young people each year.
The money awarded by Heart of England will enable St Basils Coventry to provide 32 units of accommodation in the city. What’s more, the new housing will not just give young people a roof over their heads, but most importantly, it will give them safety, security and support, to help them visualise a brighter future.
Jean Templeton, Chief Executive of St Basils, comments: “We are overjoyed to be a beneficiary of the Building Better lives programme and immensely grateful to Heart of England for this award. It has been our ambition for some time to honour our commitment to young people in Coventry by providing good quality, safe and secure accommodation which enables them to develop their confidence, build their skills and achieve their aspirations. This fund now makes that commitment possible.”
The Building Better Lives initiative is the icing on the cake for a tremendous 12-months for the Heart of England Community Foundation, ahead of its 25th birthday next year. Having received £4m from generous anonymous donors, this was further increased by £1.58m when the donors were so impressed by the plans the charity put in place. This has allowed the charity to continue its mission of developing community activity across a number of diverse projects in the West Midlands and Warwickshire.
Tina Costello, Chief Executive at Heart of England Community Foundation, comments: “St Basils has been a cornerstone charity in the region, helping to ease the plight of youth homelessness in the area. However, with the ever-increasing housing crisis, its work is more important than ever before. That’s why Heart of England is so pleased to be able to help the charity to provide vital accommodation services in Coventry enabling them to implement its vision and make these plans a reality.”
For more information about Building Better Lives, as well as the other projects that Heart of England Community Foundation supports, head to: www.heartofenglandcf.co.uk.
