A local housing trust is going beyond bricks and mortar, by helping local charities to flourish.
Halton Housing Trust has contributed a total of £700 to two of the Mayor’s official charities - Halton Autistic Family Support (HAFS) and the Let’s Go Stroke Club.
HAFS is a voluntary group which provides support to autistic children and their families. Based at the Pingot Day Centre, Dundalk Road in Widnes, HAFS offers supervised play and learning sessions, a telephone helpline, a research library and organised outings.
The Let’s Go Stroke Club delivers practical help and support to stroke victims and their families. The club, which meets regularly at Halton Stadium, is the biggest of its kind in the UK. Its 200 members enjoy day trips and social evenings, all with door to door transport.
Nick Atkin, the Chief Executive of Halton Housing Trust, handed over two cheques of £350 each to the Mayor of Halton, Councillor John Swain on Wednesday April 18, 2007. Also in attendance were Ciaran Shanahan from HAFS and Bob Bryant from the Let’s Go Club. The money came from a dedicated fund, established by the housing trust to support local charities and worthwhile community initiatives.
Nick Atkin said: “We are proud to support the work of these two important local charities. As a key housing provider within Halton, we believe our role is to create strong, prosperous communities, as well as delivering improvements to our customer’s homes. We hope the contribution will prove useful to both groups, and will allow them to continue to improve the lives of local people.”
Halton Housing Trust was formed in December 2005, after 6,230 homes transferred from Halton Borough Council. Tenants voted for transfer in order to see more investment in homes, and improved services.
Since then, the Trust has launched a massive £129 million improvement programme, to modernise tenants’ homes with over 4,000 new kitchens, 1,900 new bathrooms and 50,000 new double glazed windows.
In the next 12 months alone, the Trust is set to spend around £14 million on homes, with all work due to be completed by 2010.