A charity that provides safe housing and vital support to homeless people on Teesside has praised a team of unemployed young people for giving one of its houses a colourful make-over.
Eight unemployed 16 to 24 year olds on a Prince’s Trust Team Programme chose to help Community Campus as part of their 12 week course. They then secured an impressive £1,500 from UK Steel Enterprise’s Community Support Fund towards the cost of refurbishing the charity’s Middlesbrough house.
The Fund, set up by the Tata Steel business-support subsidiary to help community projects that improve the quality of life for people living in steel areas, has now supported 20 Prince’s Trust Team Programme projects on Teesside with a total of £41,250.
The latest project is helping young homeless people living at Community Campus’s house in Middlesbrough and saw the Princes Trust team working hard to re-decorate the hall, stairs and communal office, provide much-needed storage, new carpets and a television.
“The team has done an amazing job,” said Rachel Woodings of Community Campus. “Everyone here is very grateful to them and to UK Steel Enterprise for their generous contribution. The Middlesbrough house is a large Victorian building and had a lot of magnolia-coloured walls but we now have a welcoming and colourful hall, staircase and office where we hold communal meetings. The television will be used for a whole range of educational purposes as well as for relaxation.
“Our supported housing scheme is about helping homeless young people learn to live and budget independently and this support has made a big difference,” she added.
The Prince’s Trust Team Programmes help unemployed young people to acquire the skills, confidence and experience they need to get into work.
Graeme Ogle, Prince’s Trust Team Leader at Stockton Riverside College, said “UK Steel Enterprise is a strong supporter of our Team Programmes and we really appreciate their involvement. Obviously, the funding is important but the teams also learn such a lot from having to prepare a Dragons Den-style presentation about their project in order to win the funding.”
Sarah Thorpe of UK Steel Enterprise, said: “Our support for businesses is about providing investments of up to £1m and managed business premises but our contribution to the community is also very important. The Princes Trust Team Programmes not only help our young people into unemployment but also support people living in our steel areas through the community projects.”
Details of UK Steel Enterprise’s support for businesses and community projects are available from 01642 777 777 and www.uksteelenterprise.co.uk. The Prince’s Trust is atwww.princes-trust.org.uk and Community Campus at www.communitycampus87.com