Why now?
There are many different reasons why individuals become homeless. The truth is, if enough things go wrong and we are without support, it could happen to any of us.
Recent years have made life harder for many people who were already struggling, and we anticipate that the full extent of this impact will only become apparent in the months and years ahead. We are seeing high growth in homelessness, and more people at the point of crisis than ever before.
What will the Wolverton Hub be used for?
The 10,000 square foot hub will help not only those that are currently homeless, but also to be a safe space for vulnerable families, couples and single people in the Milton Keynes and surrounding areas that are danger of losing their home or need other support.
This project is important for enabling people to embark on a new life, maintain personal stability and sustain their tenancies, thus reducing a bounce-back’ to the streets.
What will happen to Unity Park Station?
The building is currently leased from Milton Keynes Development Partnership who have informed us that the site including the car park will be developed to become a music venue.
For the next couple of years all of our guest support services will move over to the new Hub in Wolverton. Longer term we hope to have a city-centre triage space to provide emergency crisis support. This would work alongside our Hub which will focus on prevention and recovery out of homelessness.
How much will it cost to build and launch this?
The new building is an ideal space to make our vision a reality but currently is in a run-down condition due to its age, having been an old railway training centre. This is a £2.7 million fundraising campaign – we have been working with a range of charitable trusts, the National Lottery, and corporate and individual donors to start the fundraising, and will continue to build on this to reach our target.
Phase 1 of the refurbishment to ensure the building is watertight was completed in October 2024. Thanks to the National Lottery, Garfield Weston, other grant providers and the local community, the building has had a new roof, windows, and upgrades to ensure it's compliant with fire safety regulations.
Phase 2 plans are nearing completion to ensure we can move our crisis services across when our city-centre lease expires. There will also be more storage and office/meeting room space to grow our recovery services focusing on space for our growing guest support team, other agencies and space for training and community groups.
