Posted on: 26th July 2021

St George's Crypt, a local Leeds homeless charity that has been supporting homeless and vulnerable people since 1930, has completed works on their state-of-the-art 24 unit supported living accommodation. Located in Leeds, it is specifically designed for vulnerable housed people looking to lay down roots in a safe and secure community.

Based in New Wortley and named after the founder of the Crypt, Don Robins’ House will offer accommodation to a range of vulnerable people who are looking to move on into a positive and aspirational community setting. With close ties to the New Wortley Community Centre and other local support networks, the aim is to provide tenants with a solid foundation.

The project will be officially opened by Cllr James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, and Rachel Reeves MP for Leeds West. It will be attended by several important Leeds dignitaries, business and community leaders.

The build is a key development on the strategic pathway laid out by St George’s Crypt to bring an end to homelessness. By offering high-quality accommodation with support onsite for people with a history of housing vulnerability, St George’s Crypt aims to provide housing stability for those most in need. This development will work alongside St George’s Crypt’s drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation service, alcohol dependency service, and emergency accommodation service to provide additional housing support for those in need.

Alongside Leeds City Council and a range of different partner agencies, St George’s Crypt expects this housing to sit within a citywide joined-up approach to homelessness, housing poverty, and the vulnerably housed.

The build process has brought together a number of local companies and individuals keen to support the work of St George’s Crypt. Furniture has been both donated and sold at cost, art that adorns the walls has been donated by a well-known local artist and the staff and volunteer team at St George’s Crypt have dressed all the flats. A third of the build cost came from Leeds City Council’s Right to Buy Replacement Fund and close to a third has been fundraised thanks to supporters of the long-serving work of St George’s Crypt.

Chris Fields, CEO of St George’s Crypt said, ‘This is, hopefully, our first step towards securing vulnerably housed people in Leeds; a bespoke, state-of-the-art project with 24-hour onsite support, links into all the services we and our partners provide.

We aim for this to be a solid foundation from which our residents can develop the skills necessary to move on positively with their lives, and to move past the barriers that they may have encountered in the past.’

Leader of Leeds City Council, Cllr James Lewis, said: ‘The Council is delighted to support the incredible work of St George’s Crypt and it’s great to see Don Robins’ House is now ready to provide vital services and support to some of our city’s most vulnerable people.

We are fully committed to working with a range of partners throughout Leeds to provide support to those who are rough sleeping or homeless. Leeds is fortunate to have key charities such as St George’s Crypt that have continued to do an incredible job throughout the last 16 months of the pandemic.’

Rachel Reeves MP for Leeds West said: ‘I am delighted to open this new accommodation for vulnerable people in New Wortley. Organisations like St George’s Crypt provide fantastic support to help those who are struggling to rebuild their lives, and I wish all future residents the very best with their recovery.’

Please contact Andrew Omond at St. George’s Crypt on 0113 245 9061 ext.302 for further information.