Salvation Army’s homelessness work praised by Shadow Minister

Shadow Minister praises work of Salvation Army’s pioneering homeless provision.

Pioneering homeless accommodation built by The Salvation Army in Ilford was praised by Paula Barker MP, Shadow Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Minister and her colleague, Ilford South MP, Sam Tarry when they visited recently.

Malachi Place is a £5m joint venture funded by the church and charity and Redbridge Council. It is a building made up of 42 self-contained flats that are decorated and furnished to provide safe and comfortable homes for residents.

Malachi Place provides year-round accommodation and support for people who have been sleeping rough. The Salvation Army provides specialist 24-hour on-site support for residents to help them deal with the many issues that led them to sleeping rough, like domestic violence, childhood trauma, relationship breakdown, as well as mental ill health.

Nick Redmore, Director of Homeless Services at The Salvation Army said:

“We were pleased to welcome Ms Barker and Mr Tarry to to show how Malachi Place acts as a stepping stone from rough sleeping to independent living.  

“People end up sleeping rough for lots of complex reasons and it could be anything from job loss or poor health to addiction. To help people break the cycle of rough sleeping, they need help to tackle the reasons they ended up being forced to sleep rough. Malachi blends safe and independent accommodation with specialist support to empower people to make positive changes in their lives and get back to independent living.

“The Salvation Army is calling for support for addiction and mental health issues need to be prioritised in future homelessness spending.”

Paula Barker MP, Shadow Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Minister said:

“Project Malachi is a great example of the benefit of partnership working between the third sector and local government in the area of homeless service provision. Projects of this nature do so much to support and crucially empower the most vulnerable to take control of their lives so that they can live with dignity and respect. 

“If we are to tackle the homelessness crisis, we will need to see this type of project replicated in other areas. Self-contained units should be at the heart of our response to those who require safety, comfort and independence to help get them back on their feet.”

Malachi Place was named in recognition of Malachi Justin, a ten-year-old boy who became concerned about people sleeping rough in Ilford. When his first baby tooth fell out at the age of five, Malachi gave his £5 tooth fairy money to the local Salvation Army, along with a note asking them to spend it on helping homeless people.

A further £350,000 was raised from local fundraising and charitable trusts. The Salvation Army topped that up to £2.5 million in funding and running costs for the next five years. Redbridge Council provided the land free of charge and funded a further £2.5m to pay for construction.

The Salvation Army has opened similar schemes based on Malachi Place in Basildon and Southend.