Tunbridge Wells Friends help young homeless
West Kent Quakers are converting their Meeting House to include flats for homeless young people
West Kent Quakers are converting their Tunbridge Wells Meeting House to include ten single-occupancy flats for homeless young people.
The young people will spend time in a more closely supported environment first, with the new flats seen as a half-way house. West Kent YMCA will provide support staff for the residents and Habitat for Humanity apprentices will help with the build.
The building work will include a single floor extension and, although the large Meeting room will be smaller than before, new windows will make it brighter with much-improved access to the garden.
‘The building was purpose-built in 1894 for a large and active Meeting but for many years the numbers of our Meeting have not warranted such a large building,’ Alison Seddon of West Kent Area Meeting told the Friend. ‘This project aims to put the building to better use whilst still maintaining our presence in the area. We will be developing new local partnerships and are putting faith in action by supporting our local homeless young people.’
The Meeting house will be vacated on 29 July. From 3 August Meeting for Worship will be held at The Pagoda Centre, a nearby YMCA community centre.
The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2015.
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