Leading nationwide construction and maintenance contractor Novus Property Solutions has completed its refurbishment of Manchester-based homeless charity Coffee4Craig’s welfare centre as part of the company’s Build Back Better initiative.
Novus launched Build Back Better in February 2021 as part of its vision to be a force for good, encompassing three key focus areas selected by its colleagues: reducing poverty, environmental action, and supporting health and wellbeing. As part of the initiative, Novus is encouraging its colleagues, clients, supply chain and the wider community to nominate deserving causes across the UK to receive funding – with Coffee4Craig chosen to be the first recipient by the contractor’s review panel.
Through the funding and work carried out by Novus, Coffee4Craig – which provides hot food, emergency provisions, showers and medical support to those in need through its out-of-hours drop-in service in Manchester City Centre – can now offer its users a much improved environment, including the transformation of the underused communal room into a Wellbeing Zone.
The layout of the room has been reconfigured to provide a comfortable and inviting space for Coffee4Craig’s guests; now featuring a salon corner and seating area as well as new shelving to store donations. And through Novus’ Build Back Better support, Coffee4Craig also has improved washing and changing facilities as well as two new kitchen units.
To complete the refurbishment, Novus collaborated with various members of its supply chain – with the kitchen units donated by Howdens, paint donated by PPG, and timber donated by Travis Perkins. Novus’ painters and decorators carried out the interior redecoration with the labour support of its subcontractors and the Diamond Projects team, who installed the kitchen units and shelves.
Commenting on the refurbishment, Coffee4Craig’s chief executive officer, Hendrix Lancaster, said: “My wife Risha and I established Coffee4Craig in 2013 after sadly losing my brother-in-law, Craig, who found himself homeless and living on the streets through mental health challenges. Our experience made us realise that this can happen to anyone, and that more support is needed for individuals facing homelessness.
“Coffee4Craig has continued to grow from initially handing out food in Manchester City Centre, to now providing individuals facing the harsh realities of living on the streets with a safe place to meet and receive support – and we couldn’t have done this without the support of our staff and volunteers, as well as businesses like Novus. Thanks to Novus’ support, we have been able to improve the function of the building for our guests, providing them with a better overall service and in turn, improving their wellbeing.”
Novus Property Solutions’ social value and CSR partner, Kevin Rhone, added: “Giving back to the communities in which we work has always been a fundamental value of Novus as a business, and we’re delighted to have been able to support Coffee4Craig through our new Build Back Better initiative. The charity does vital work for Manchester’s homeless community and those in crisis, so it’s fantastic to see the transformation of the centre’s facilities.
“We are now accepting nominations for charities and community organisations which would benefit from Novus’ support for the second Build Back Better challenge via our website, and we look forward to continuing our support of deserving causes.”
For more information about Novus Property Solutions and Build Back Better please visit https://www.novussolutions.co.uk/
