On Monday, we officially opened our stunning new 6 Solohaus homes, kindly gifted to Emmaus Cambridge by Hill Group. The homes are fully self-contained and include a lounge area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom which will transform the support we can offer to people who have experienced homelessness.
We were delighted to welcome Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire to our event on behalf of the King and Queen Consort, who has been a continued supporter of Emmaus around the UK. We were also joined by Selwyn Image, the founder of Emmaus Cambridge and Emmaus UK and Emmaus UK President, Terry Waite.
At the event, we were also joined by the influencer, Tayo Oguntonade (@brickzwithtipz) who live-streamed the opening and gave his followers an exclusive tour of the homes. Stay tuned to our social media to see more videos of Tayo interviewing our guests and companions.
The homes were donated by Hill as part of their Foundation 200 initiative, a £15 million pledge to design and donate 200 modular homes to charities working in homelessness by 2025.
Terry Waite CBE, President of Emmaus UK, comments: “A safe, comfortable, independent space is vital to helping those who experience homelessness to rebuild their lives and make the transition into more permanent accommodation. The SoloHaus homes will provide us with a great opportunity to support more people who find themselves in this position and will make a real difference in our efforts to tackle homelessness in the Cambridge area.”
The 6 homes will allow us to support more people who have experienced homelessness in Cambridge and beyond. We plan to use the homes to support companions who are ready for the next level of independence but still want support within our community. For many people who have experienced homelessness, having a space to call their own is really important and these Solohaus homes offer just that.
HM The Lord Lieutenant, of Cambridgeshire, Mrs Julie Spence said: “It was a pleasure to join Emmaus and The Hill Group at this event, which sees the handover of these six impressive modular homes that will provide such great support to the Emmaus community.”
We are incredibly grateful to Hill for this generous donation to our community. These homes will transform the lives of many companions living with us and help them as they take their next steps towards independence.