Homes at the heart of settled futures

This week’s #HomesAtTheHeart theme is settled futures, and we want to shine a light on the great work that goes on at Lea Bridge House, our homeless hostel in London. After substantial refurbishment Lea Bridge now offers 229 rooms.

The refurbishment included all rooms from the first to the ninth floor, with new heaters and hand wash basins being installed. As well as this, the communal bathrooms have been pulled out and new flooring, cubicles, showers, baths, and toilets have been fitted.

Thankfully, during lockdown additional works were able to continue, whilst following all government guidance. A brand-new CCTV system has been installed in the whole building, along with additional bike racks allowing more residents to use the facility and our contractors CLC have continued with the general infrastructure refurbishments. The Lea Bridge team are working on installing a new WI-FI system for residents, which will particularly benefit residents looking for work, and claiming Universal Credit.

Staff at Lea Bridge have worked hard to support residents during the pandemic even whilst working from home and arranged food parcels for over 50 residents from two local charities.

The housing and facilities staff at Lea Bridge have now returned to the office on a rota system to help assist residents with any tenancy management queries such as rent, benefits, signposting advice and dealing with any maintenance and repairs issues. The housing teams have started interviews, virtual viewings, and lettings in secure and safe manner, ensuring we are following all current government guidelines.