This week has involved more meetings as we take more steps on this journey to building a pop-up hostel. We have work going on all fronts - the accommodation plan, social enterprise development, legal counsel, land surveys, financial modelling, and more! A big step has been completed on the site at 1a Chadwick Road with the removal of asbestos from the site. The next step is for the power to be fully disconnected before the full demolition can take place. Its steps like these that help us all keep up the momentum - and we were obviously very excited when some hoardings went up, and a sign to notify of the building being brought down by the council!
Alongside the building work, a key part of the project is what we do to support people to move on in to better situations, and develop the capacity to make informed decisions about their futures. Because of our annual nightshelter, weekly Saturday brunch, and Sunday morning breakfast, we have been able to build good relationships with many of the future residents of the pop up hostel - unless, God-willing, their situations get resolved before that. There are also a number of other great organisations who are working with Ilford's rough sleepers, such as RAMFEL and the Welcome Centre, who we are working closely with to be able to develop tailored support plans. This is another great example of our community coming together to support the most vulnerable in our community.
With that in mind, we are mindful that this project is entirely a community effort. It can't happen without everyone coming together with a common purpose. To that end, we are planning to hold a celebration event for the progress of the project so far which will be around lunchtime on July 29th. Please save the date! We will announce more detail soon - but we want you there! To learn more about the project, learn about how you can get involved, and also celebrate the wonderful community in Ilford. Please sign up to this site to be notified on Monday when more details are available!
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Our plan is to give an update like this on the project each week. We're also going to include a few points for people to pray about as the project develops.
Please pray for:
- The sponsoring committee - we will be meeting together on Monday to continue our work on this project.
- The rough sleepers of Ilford - for continued safety, and new opportunities to move into better situations
- Organisations that work with rough sleepers in Ilford - for new ways to support people, and the strength to carry on with difficult and challenging work.