New eco-homes for the homeless
NEW innovative and eco-friendly temporary housing in Barry is helping homeless people get their lives back on track.
The 11 lodges built at Court Road by Vale of Glamorgan council opened in August and are already helping people move on to permanent accommodation and into education.
The energy-efficient lodges were built on the site of a derelict council depot, and took six months to build using innovative modern methods of construction, using a modular design.
Two people staying there gave their accounts of how the £1m scheme has helped them with a safe and secure place to live.
Ryan Davies-Young moved to the Court Road lodges in October, having previously stayed in a hotel by Cardiff Airport for eight months.
He said he’s now eating better with his own kitchen, is much closer to family and is finding the lodges much quieter than the hotel.
He said: “I’ve got my own space, and I have less anxiety in this space because I’ve got a lot of freedom now. I’m very close to town, and I’ve got family living nearby. I can go and see my family whenever.
“At the hotel I would either have to walk along a dangerous road or catch a bus, and I often didn’t have the money for the bus.”
He added he was hoping to go into either employment or volunteering soon, is taking a part-time course in computing at Cardiff and Vale College, and is hoping to move into a permanent home in the new year.
Each lodge has an open-plan lounge, kitchen and diner, with a bedroom and en-suite shower room and toilet.
Nine of the lodges are for single people and two are for couples.
The council is assessing how successful the scheme is, before potentially building more elsewhere in the Vale.
The council said most single people stay in temporary accommodation for between a year to 18 months, before moving into a permanent home. Families tend to stay in temporary housing for less time, about two or three months.
Adam Tipton moved there in August, having previously lived in shared accommodation in Barry.
He was made homeless in March this year after his mother, who he was living with and caring for, died of cancer.
At first he was sent to a hotel in Rhoose for a couple of months, and began suffering with drug and alcohol issues.
But having a stable and personal place at the Court Road lodges has helped him find a “new purpose and a drive”.
He said: “I’m volunteering to become a counsellor.
“I’m helping people with drugs and substance abuse, and I’m mentoring young people.
“I’m trying to give back – all due to this place. I’ve sorted myself out due to the stability.”
He added he was starting a counselling course in January, and plans to go to university in future and eventually start his own counselling business.
The only problem with the new accommodation, both residents said, was that no internet is provided, leaving people living there to rely on expensive options like phone contracts with unlimited data.
Mr Davies-Young added: “It’s my only complaint about the lodges. Everything is brilliant, it just needs the internet, then it would be perfect.”
While there are currently only 11 lodges, the Vale council is monitoring the success of the accommodation, before deciding whether to expand the scheme to house more of the 325 people registered as homeless in the Vale of Glamorgan.