Wednesday, July 26, 2017

My old YMCA in Romford - great news for humans in need - £6 million worth.

Romford charity secures £6million of GLA funding for new homes in Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Thamesmead

PUBLISHED: 11:30 24 July 2017
YMCA Thames Gateway. Picture: Google Maps
YMCA Thames Gateway. Picture: Google Maps

A youth charity which has been serving the community for more than 100 years has secured funding to build 100 new affordable homes.

YMCA Thames Gateway, Rush Green Road, Romford, has had success in gaining a £6million grant from the Greater London Authority (GLA), for new homes as part of the mayor of London’s affordable housing programme.

The homes, which will be built in Havering, Barking and Dagenham and Thamesmead, will increase YMCA Thames Gateway’s offer to house young people at risk of homelessness in their key boroughs.
Director of housing Tracy White said: “This grant is great news for us and for the young people we work with in the area. 
“This funding will help us to pilot a new and exciting housing model called YAspire. 
“It is an exciting model which has been developed by YMCATG [YMCA Thames Gateway], which seeks to provide homeless young people with accommodation alongside space to develop their entrepreneurial skills.”
The charity - which has been transforming lives in the borough since 1906 - gives not only 500 young people a year a safe, warm place to stay, but life skills training, counselling as well as childcare to help support those in need.
With the help of the GLA funding, a total of 40 units will be provided in Havering, 30 units in Barking and Dagenham and another 30 in Greenwich.
The mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I want to see everyone playing their part in tackling the housing crisis in London, because it is simply unacceptable that Londoners continue to be priced out of a city they call home.
“We know that solving the housing crisis is not going to happen overnight, but I very much welcome so many housing associations and councils matching my ambition by committing to build the new and genuinely affordable homes Londoners so desperately need.
“I am delighted that we have set a City Hall record for the number of homes allocated funding - but I am clear that we have got much more to do to secure the land we need to build homes and ensure we have sufficient capacity in the construction industry.” 
BHP