Helping To Create A Psychologically Informed Space For Crisis
October 31st, 2023
Brewers
were thrilled to be able to support Crisis, the national charity for people
experiencing homelessness. They help people directly out of homelessness and
campaign for the changes needed to solve it altogether:
‘We
welcome everyone who comes to us for support and each person is treated as an
individual, with dignity and respect. We’ve helped thousands of people end their
homelessness over the years. Our approach is to focus on the positives – what
someone is good at and their interests – rather than what might be holding
them back.’
Earlier
this year Crisis’ flagship service centre, London Skylight, moved to a new building
at 50 Commercial Street. Brewers Aldgate donated painting and decorating
materials to the new building that saved the charity £10,000 as a result:
‘Skylights
are where we work directly with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
We provide practical one-to-one support to help people access benefits,
healthcare services, employment opportunities, and more. Our main aim is to
relieve the huge pressure of homelessness, by helping people find safe and
affordable homes as quickly as possible.’
The
following products were donated: 460L of Brewers Contract Matt, 20L of Albany
Super Primer/Undercoat, 55L of Albany Super Satin, 400L of Albany Acrylic
Eggshell, 264 tubes of Brewers Caulk and a range of sundries!
The way a space is decorated makes a world
of difference for how safe and comfortable a person feels in it. Crisis had to
completely renovate the new Skylight, to create a psychologically informed
environment, meaning that they consciously considered and adapted the
physical spaces to empower and support Crisis members (those the charity work
with to end their homelessness) so that they can feel they are in a safe place
to get the help they need.
Members were involved throughout the
renovation and helped to choose the paint colours for the new spaces. Crisis
ran interactive focus groups to choose the decorations, during which members
spoke about how they had felt when they took their first steps through the
Skylight doors.
Philanthropy Manager, Lizzie Tees
said: “It has been a joy to work closely with Brewers this year to bring our
new Skylight to life. Brewers generously donated all the paint we needed to
help make our new home a place where our members will feel safe and welcomed,
where they can focus on their journey out of homelessness. Brewers’ donation
allowed us to save more than £10,000. Because of this, we could purchase panic
alarms for our meeting rooms, which are vital for keeping everyone in our
Skylight comfortable and safe. My gratitude to the Brewer family and all those
at Brewers Decorator Centres cannot be overstated, it has been a privilege to
have them stand side by side with us in our mission to end homelessness.”