University donation supports Darlington homeless charity

A charity which supports people to achieve independence within their own homes has received a donation from Teesside University’s workplace giving scheme.

The 700 Club operates a number of services in Darlington meeting the housing needs of vulnerable individuals, families and couples.

To support the charity with its vital work, the 700 Club has received £500 from ‘Be The Change’, a Teesside University workplace giving scheme designed to support charities and community groups which make a difference to people’s lives across the Tees Valley.

The 700 Club was established in 1996 when a public appeal was made for 700 people in Darlington to donate £50 each to purchase a small, terraced house which could be used to help house homeless people.

Since then, the charity has expanded significantly and approximately 150 people a day now access the 700 Club’s services. Although the 700 Club has a strong reputation for working with individuals with complex needs (street homelessness, substance dependency, etc), its work is now much more broad-based, supporting anyone with a housing need, including families.

Dr John Elliston, the Head of Strategy and Development at the 700 Club, said: “The aim of the 700 Club is to support people on a pathway, wherever it begins, to having a secure home.

“To achieve that we offer a full range of services to support our service users’ diverse range of needs as, one of the things we have learned is, offering homeless people accommodation alone is not enough.

“You have to create a home within those four walls; providing individuals with the skills and confidence to live independently and giving a sense of belonging contributes to that.”

Dr Elliston said the Teesside University donation would support work at the Lodge, a 13-room facility which offers short term transitional housing tailored specifically to meet the needs of people with a range of complex issues.

He added: “The Lodge is right at the sharp end of Darlington’s homeless problem and works with people who literally have nowhere else to go.

“Donations like this can go directly to supporting those vulnerable individuals.”

Be The Change offers University colleagues the opportunity to donate the spare pennies from their monthly salaries to support worthwhile causes.

Members of Be the Change can then nominate organisations which are close to their heart to receive a cash boost.

The 700 Club was nominated by Louise Morris, a People and Places Officer in the University’s Student and Library Services Department.

She said: “I nominated the 700 Club to receive some support as I am aware of the good work that they do in Darlington.

“They don’t just look to rehome people, they support their personal development and resilience, so that once accommodation is secured it has a chance of permanency.

“I became aware of 700Club through my work with Tees Valley Sport. We were able to support a physical activity element to their client development scheme.

“They have a creative, innovative and client-centred approach and I was confident that funding would be put to best use.”

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