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- Barrowmore
BarrowmoreProvides high quality care, accommodation, training and employment for people with special needs
More InfoA DIFFERENT WORLD
- Barrowmore
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Provides high quality care, accommodation, training and employment for people with special needs
More Info
Barrowmore Limited
Background
Barrowmore was originally created by the British Red Cross and the Order of St John in 1920 as a sanatorium for soldiers returning from the First World War. It is now an independent charity caring for people with a range of disabilities. Almost all beneficiaries have a learning difficulty as well. Located on an 85 acre site just outside Chester, the charity provides supported accommodation through a 35 room residential home. Barrowmore House. It also delivers education and training with the ultimate aim of getting users into jobs and back into the community.
How we helped
The charity wanted to demolish a derelict hostel on its site and build flats and bungalows which would provide interim accommodation to prepare beneficiaries to live independently in the community. In addition to Barrowmore’s own fundraising efforts, a £500,000 loan was secured from Charity Bank to fund the project. But some applications to grant-making trusts were not successful and the expected sale of two properties stalled because of the crash in the housing market in 2008. So another £250,000 bridging loan was agreed with Charity Bank to enable the development to go ahead. “I suppose we could have got the loan from a commercial bank,” says chief executive Eric Lees. “But it was good to work with Charity Bank because of their beliefs and ethos. You got the feeling you were part of a big family.”
Impact
The development, Barrowmore Court, was completed in January 2009 and six residents of Barrowmore House have since moved in. Two have successfully moved back into the community. The opening of Barrowmore Court has enabled new beneficiaries to move into Barrowmore House and, as a result, increased the charity’s income by around £100,000 a year. Jim Killen, who has lived in Barrowmore Court for more than a year, says: “I love the feeling of being independent although the fact that Barrowmore staff are around to support me if it’s needed is very welcome.” Barrowmore has now repaid the £250,000 bridging loan.
www.barrowmore.co.uk