Lord Lieutenant Susie Sheldon officially opened Aspire’s new High Street community housing in Ryde on Friday 29th August.
The seven flats will shortly become home to women exiting homelessness or who are at risk of becoming homeless.
Residents will be supported to gain further independence and to move onto longer term accommodation in the future. Three of the flats will be specifically earmarked for women with Veteran connections.
Funding for the project
The scheme has been part-funded by the Isle of Wight Council’s Community Housing Fund and Aspire played host to representatives from the Council and Charity Bank, the latter having also helped finance the scheme through a combination of loans and grants.
Other contributors to the scheme include the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the B&Q Foundation.
Aspire CEO, Trevor Nicholas said,
“This accommodation is the culmination of four years of hard work to provide homes for people who are most at risk. We know this is a drop in the ocean compared to the overall need, but we hope this scheme will be a catalyst for many others in the future.”
Tour and speeches
The Lord Lieutenant first took a tour of Aspire’s Dover Street premises, hearing about the many community initiatives that the Charity undertakes. She then travelled to the High Street to open the new premises after a short speech by Aspire Chair, Bob White, who spoke of the desire and need for Churches and Christian organisations, such as Aspire, to step into the housing gap and to think creatively about the use of assets that might not currently be fully utilised.
Supporters
The event welcomed representatives from organisations involved in the project including ARID Design who have overseen the design and development of the project and DN Associates who have undertaken the construction. Isle of Wight East MP, Joe Robertson, and Ryde’s Mayor, Diana Conyers, were also in attendance.
White: Great to hear so many positive comments
Bob White said,
“It was great to welcome people to this new accommodation and to hear so many positive comments about the quality of the provision.
“We are grateful to the Lord Lieutenant and so many others for attending and we are looking forward to showing people around their new homes in the next few weeks.”
About Aspire Ryde
Aspire Ryde is a community-led organisation providing inclusive spaces and support programmes for all ages across the Isle of Wight.
News shared by Helen on behalf of Aspire Ryde. Ed
