Meet Julie – she is someone who has been living in temporary accommodation in Greater Manchester for the last two years, alongside her twin daughters. This has been a challenging time for her and her family because they were moved to an area unfamiliar to them, away from their friends, family, school and support networks.
Let Us was able to help Julie by ensuring she moved out of temporary accommodation to became one of the first tenants housed by National Homelessness Property Fund 2 (NHPF2) managed by Resonance, a social investment company. The fund is used to purchase and refurbish properties and Let Us leases some of these properties to provide individuals and families with a long-term home. You can read more about how the fund works at Inside Housing.
Julie and her daughters are some of the very first tenants to be housed by NHPF2. They recently moved into their new home, back in the local community where they lived previously and where Julie’s daughters go to school. Their home is a two-bedroom apartment, close to many local facilities, green open spaces and good public transport.
Resonance purchased the property in late spring and their team has since fully refurbished and improved the property’s energy efficiency. Julie has been supported with the move into her new home by Three Sixty - part of Stockport Homes Group and one of the partners of Let Us, the Greater Manchester Ethical Lettings Agency.
Let Us partners support tenants throughout their move and settling and establishing themselves in their homes.
How are Julie and her family living well in their home?
Julie has been living in her new home for almost a month now, so we caught up with her to find out how the move went and the difference being back in her local community is already making to her and her daughters.
Julie said: “I’m from Reddish and have always lived in Stockport. I have three children, including twin daughters who are at school in Reddish. But when we lost our home, we had to move out of the community we lived in.
“Everyone deserves a roof over their head, but we have struggled living in a different environment, a new area, to the one we were in before.”
Julie explains how she and her family are settling into their home, back in the community they have lived in previously and know so well, and the difference their home is making already, after only a few weeks:
“This is a new start. We have all the tools to begin again. Schools are close, the children are happy, we have everything available to make this successful.
“My mental health and depression have improved already. My children were already attending the school here, so now they don’t have to get two buses just to get to school. We are back living in an area where I feel safe, back to where I have doctors, school, friends, family. Where my children can go out in a familiar area. It’s like I have woken up!”
How can you make a difference to someone like Julie?
If you have a property in Greater Manchester you are interested in either selling or leasing to Let Us partners you could have a huge impact on helping someone who really needs a place to call home. Visit our homepage if you are interested in leasing a property to Let Us, or if you have a property to sell you can send us your details here and we’ll put you in touch with our investment partners. If you choose to sell there’s no hassle, you’ll get a quick offer and there’s no chain.
Find out about other people we’ve helped through the Let Us project:
Salix Living Case Study A version of this blog was originally posted on Resonance’s website, click here to view it.