Berkeley Makes Large Donation to Southall Homeless Charity

Staff at the housebuilder ran, cycled and carolled to help raise funds

Berkeley staff held fundraising activities for the charity

Local charity Hope for Southall Street Homeless (HSSH) has received a £21,000 donation from the developer of The Green Quarter.

This takes the total amount raised by the housebuilder for the charity to £120,000. This will help to fund a bilingual complex needs case worker, who has been working throughout the pandemic.

Over the course of the three-year partnership, the Berkeley team has raised money in a number of ways including running challenges and carolling.

Susan Cawley from HSSH said, “Our vision as a charity has always been, and continues to be, to enable people to take ways out of rough sleeping which results in them leading fulfilled lives. We have achieved this over the last three years with the help of the team at Berkeley. Their support was especially beneficial during the pandemic which has been a difficult time for everyone, but particularly for those who are homeless and live on our streets. As a group, we are better placed to continue our work, and look to a future filled with hope for all.”

Established in December 2015 by local faith leaders, HSSH aims to support people who are sleeping rough, including by helping them into permanent accommodation. Over the course of the pandemic, the charity has supported rough sleepers self-isolating in hotels by providing vital human contact – virtually and in-person, when possible. HSSH has also worked to secure access to specialised health services, when necessary, in the hotels where those they are helping are staying.

Money was raised by Berkeley staff at fun runs

The money raised by Berkeley and its employees has helped to fund this important outreach work as well as a full-time, complex needs case worker. As a Punjabi and English speaker, the case worker is crucial to the charity’s mission – providing daily welfare support to people without homes, including organising accommodation in hotels and making sure their needs are met by hotel staff.

Ashley Kensington, Manging Director at Berkeley West Thames, said: “I’m proud our partnership has helped HSSH to support so many in the community over the past three years. It’s been great to see our team at The Green Quarter so involved with fundraising – from carolling to cycling – and helping to support such an important cause, especially during the pandemic.”

Over the course of the partnership, money has been raised through donations, on-site initiatives and fundraising events including Berkeley’s Tough Mudder. At a Christmas celebration in December 2019 – attended by over 200 people from the local community – carols were sung for donations, while the Big Southall Sleep Out in March 2020 raised £7,500 for the charity. At this event, participants spent the night outside and were given an insight into the realities of sleeping rough with a talk from a representative of HSSH.

In addition, in April this year, members of The Green Quarter team travelled more than 10 million steps in 10 days to raise a target of £10,000 for the charity. Called the 10/10/10 challenge, 78 employees took part and achieved their goal, raising more than the £10,000 target.

Berkeley is the housebuilder behind The Green Quarter, a new 3,750-home development in Southall which has attracted controversy with some local residents claiming that toxins from the former gasworks on the site are being released into the air by construction work affecting the health of local people.

If you’d like to support the work of HSSH, contact: john.murphy@hssh.org.uk.

September 30, 2021