Intervention: Wigan, Greater Manchester
Fund: Social and Sustainable Housing
Date of Investment: April 2024
Impact Area: Housing and local facilities
Beneficiary Group: Homeless people
The Brick is a £3m income charity operating across Wigan and Leigh in Greater Manchester, working with people who are experiencing homelessness, poverty, crisis or unemployment. The organisation has a history that goes back more than 100 years – the early Charity work was run by a body called the Help Committee but now runs under the title of The Brick. It is the key homelessness charity locally, including operating the borough’s out of hours homelessness service on behalf of the council.
SASH II funding will enable The Brick to acquire at least 9 properties in Wigan and Leigh, in Greater Manchester to provide supported accommodation for people transitioning through homelessness.
The Brick provides services to people who are at risk of or transitioning through homelessness, financial hardship or crisis.
The Brick supports adults presenting as homeless. The variety of SASH-funded property sizes gives The Brick better options to accommodate those who are single or couples or those who are more likely to thrive in a smaller property. The SASH-funded properties are located in Wigan and Leigh.
The SASH-funding will provide a significant 40 units of supported accommodation. Ownership will give The Brick more control over their properties and the areas they choose to house people. The Brick also offers a wide choice of ways in which beneficiaries can engage with skills training and volunteering activities within the organisation, considered key to discovering what any individual may be happiest pursuing – from refurbishments, bike repairs, volunteering in the kitchen, to warehouses etc. Beneficiaries can stay anywhere from a few months to 2 years (typical 6-18months).
The SASH-funded properties will help address the shortage of suitable accommodation in LAs in which The Brick operates and allow the organisation to expand its owned property portfolio and be less reliant on PRS. Given its size, The Brick would likely encounter challenges in using the traditional mortgage market to purchase properties at the scale outlined as part of this proposal. Supporting an organisation such as The Brick also carries additional benefits for tenants given the extent to which the organisation is embedded within the overall homelessness provision.
The Brick has good knowledge of the needs of its clients, with prior experience of managing properties and tenancies.
