A Cumbrian homeless charity has been given a £15,000 boost to fund a vital outreach service.
The Cumberland Building Society donated the money to Calderwood House in Egremont following its annual general meeting.
The society pledged £2 for every customer vote, with 5,898 customers voting this year. It raised just under £12,000, which The Cumberland topped up to bring the total donation to £15,000.
The charity said the money would be used to cover the cost of an outreach service after it lost local authority funding for the post last year.
Run by Time to Change West Cumbria, Calderwood House is a 10-bedroom emergency hostel housed in a converted police station.
It is for people aged 25 and over, and prioritises military veterans and those with a local connection to the former Copeland area.
Manager Rebecca Irving said the funding would make a significant difference.
She said: “It’s going to be invaluable. We did have a permanent outreach worker that was funded by the local authority and unfortunately we lost that funding last year.
“So that post went, and we lost our outreach worker.
“Currently, we’re just doing the bare bones of it when people move on because we just don’t have the money to pay staff to do outreach, but this money will help get residents settled in their properties.
“It will help people sustain a tenancy to avoid the revolving door syndrome of what used to happen before we had outreach – people would get a tenancy, be left on their own, not know how to run a house and end up back here.”
Stuart Miller, chief executive of The Cumberland, visited the charity this month to meet staff, volunteers and residents.
Mr Miller said: “When I visited Calderwood House, I was deeply impressed with the help they give to the people in our community who need it the most.
“That former residents have returned to become volunteers and even staff members says everything about the impact of their work.
“So I am very proud that, thanks to our members, we can donate £15,000 towards their outreach work, giving people the practical support they need as they move into their own homes and helping them sustain their tenancies.
“It’s a wonderful example of how we can support organisations that make such a lasting difference in our communities.”
