Southern Water pitches in to help charity Turning Tides' Horsham project for homeless off the ground

Turning Tides provides support for people who are experiencing homelessness and have been working hard to renovate Roffey Place, a former bible college in Horsham which has been let to the charity.

The charity already runs over 35 different projects across the county – but this new service will be unlike any other provision within the wider regional homeless sector.

The centre will include 24-hour onsite support, medical help, substance misuse specialists, a wellbeing and sensory suite, digital inclusion, help with training, employment and managing finances, a commercial kitchen to learn cooking skills and much more. Residents are anticipated to stay for approximately 6 -9 months and then move on to independent living or a lower support service.

The charity is now appealing for public support as they strive to raise £210k to complete and open the service – which is unique and unprecedented in Sussex – in time for winter. To find out more, please click here.

Southern Water’s delivery partner, Costain and MWH (CMDP) who are working on improvements at the local wastewater treatment site in Horsham have got involved supporting the local charity by providing more volunteers and equipment to help the charity demolish a building and tackle extra jobs.

Along with CMDP, a call was made to Southern Water employees across the business to get involved and volunteer to ensure the centre was ready for use by Christmas.

Each employee at Southern Water is given to two days leave per year out of their usual working environment to take part in community volunteering. In total, almost 100 employees stepped up and donated their time to help Turning Tides get the centre ready which totals over 700 hours of volunteering.

Volunteers had a fantastic day, with employees saying: "That was a really satisfying and rewarding day at work! After all that wind and rain last night, it made me think of all the homeless people out on the street." "It was a really great day - so nice to be involved with something so worthwhile."

Alex Willumsen said: “We are so happy to have been able to support this local project in partnership with our employees and delivery partners to provide the support to the local charity and enable this project to take shape. Hopefully with our support and donation of time, skills and equipment we can collectively create something supportive to the clients at Turning Tides as they begin their pathway out of homelessness.”

Amy Thorley, Project Manager at Roffey Place, Turning Tides, added: “The support that Southern Water has provided has been unbelievable. Around 100 volunteers have turned their hands to gardening, painting, clearing the site and cleaning over the last two weeks. They have worked incredibly hard but have brought such enthusiasm and joy that it has been a delight. We still have a long way to go but the impact they have made along with their partners CMDP has brought us closer to our goal of opening this pioneering service in time for Christmas.”