YMCA Birmingham awarded grant to help build better lives in Northfield

A local charity, YMCA Birmingham, has recently been awarded a grant of over £1m, which will aid them in building 27 self-contained flats in Northfield.

The funding for the flats has been secured through the Heart of England Community Foundation’s ‘Building Better Lives’ Programme. It will provide interim accommodation for individuals living in supported accommodation who are ready to move on to live more independently.

YMCA Birmingham’s Magdalene Court hostel in Northfield has ensured young people have
had a safe space to live for nearly six decades. It provides secure and comfortable
accommodation as well as one-to-one support, which aims to empower and encourage both
men and women who have found themselves homeless. Offering sixty-four rooms of
accommodation to support a variety of needs, Magdalene Court helps around 120
people each year.

Residents of Magdalene Court have become homeless for various reasons and receive help from the staff at the YMCA to overcome their problems and move on with their lives.

The grant awarded to YMCA Birmingham will help to fund the creation of 27 additional units
of independent accommodation at the charity’s Northfield site. They will be for
people embarking on their next step of their journey after living at the hostel. The flats are being built close to the existing building, ensuring that those occupying the space will still have access to the key YMCA services, which have helped them so far.

Heart of England Community Foundation has chosen YMCA Birmingham as one of the three
charities to support in its ‘Building Better Lives’ Programme. Building Better Lives is a major capital build programme, with grants being awarded to causes focused on housing
vulnerable people.

Alan Fraser, Chief Executive of YMCA Birmingham, has said: “We are so thankful to the team at Heart of England Community Foundation for its generous donation. The grant will enable us to expand our accommodation so that we can continue to provide a safe and secure accommodation even after people no longer require our hostel services.

“And the grant also means that the new accommodation can be let to tenants and rents that will be very affordable even to those on low incomes. So, it’s helping us to beat the
benefits trap – which will make a life-changing difference to the people who we help. Not
only that, but by freeing up rooms in Magdalene Court, we will be able to help even more
very vulnerable people who are currently homeless.”

Ahead of their 25th birthday, The Building Better Lives initiative is the icing on the cake for a tremendous 12-months for the Heart of England Community Foundation. They have
received £4m from generous anonymous donors and this was further increased by £1.58m
when the donors were impressed.