Brewers were thrilled to be able to support Crisis, the national charity for people experiencing homelessness. They help people directly out of homelessness and campaign for the changes needed to solve it altogether.
Philanthropy Manager at Crisis, Lizzie Tees explains: "We welcome everyone who comes to us for support and each person is treated as an individual, with dignity and respect. We’ve helped thousands of people end their homelessness over the years. Our approach is to focus on the positives – what someone is good at and their interests – rather than what might be holding them back."
Earlier this year Crisis’ flagship service centre, London Skylight, moved to a new building at 50 Commercial Street. Brewers Aldgate donated painting and decorating materials to the new building that saved the charity £10,000 as a result.
"Skylights are where we work directly with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. We provide practical one-to-one support to help people access benefits, healthcare services, employment opportunities, and more. Our main aim is to relieve the huge pressure of homelessness, by helping people find safe and affordable homes as quickly as possible," Lizzie added.
The following products were donated: 460L of Brewers Contract Matt, 20L of Albany Super Primer/Undercoat, 55L of Albany Super Satin, 400L of Albany Acrylic Eggshell, 264 tubes of Brewers Caulks and a range of sundries!
The way a space is decorated makes a world of difference for how safe and comfortable a person feels in it. Crisis had to completely renovate the new Skylight, to create a psychologically informed environment, meaning that they consciously considered and adapted the physical spaces to empower and support Crisis members (those the charity work with to end their homelessness) so that they can feel they are in a safe place to get the help they need.
Members were involved throughout the renovation and helped to choose the paint colours for the new spaces. Crisis ran interactive focus groups to choose the decorations, during which members spoke about how they had felt when they took their first steps through the Skylight doors.
Lizzie concludes: “It has been a joy to work closely with Brewers this year to bring our new Skylight to life. Brewers generously donated all the paint we needed to help make our new home a place where our members will feel safe and welcomed, where they can focus on their journey out of homelessness. Brewers’ donation allowed us to save more than £10,000."
"Because of this, we could purchase panic alarms for our meeting rooms, which are vital for keeping everyone in our Skylight comfortable and safe. My gratitude to the Brewer family and all those at Brewers Decorator Centres cannot be overstated, it has been a privilege to have them stand side by side with us in our mission to end homelessness.”
Find out more about Crisis and the incredible work they carry out here