A HOMELESS charity is “very close” to moving into a building that needs a bit of DIY work to make it into a support and skills hub.

The Alma Road Social Club could see the Windsor Homeless Project, which has been supporting the homeless and vulnerable since 2009, move-in if signing the 25-year lease goes ahead as planned.

This is according to Nick Roberts, manager at the charity, who told councillors and residents at a Windsor Town Forum on Thursday, September 2.

Nick Roberts, manager, gave the Windsor Town Forum an update on the project

Nick Roberts, manager, gave the Windsor Town Forum an update on the project

Mr Roberts said moving into the social club, along with other charities, has been a possibility for over a year and is now “very close” exchanging contracts and putting the lease in their name.

The charity currently operates at the back of Holy Trinity Garrison Church – but have been seeing their numbers grow over the past three years and now need more space to offer more hours as well as extra support and services.

Mr Roberts said: “There are many reasons why that’s a fantastic thing for Windsor Homeless Project [and] for Windsor Christian Action – which we are the charity the project sits under – and also the Windsor community and the surrounding areas because it’s going to allow all of the projects that sit under Windsor Christian Action, so that’s the homeless project, street angels, more than a shelter, and food share, to have a central Windsor location.

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“I think that’s going to be paramount for food share especially just with the numbers they’re seeing and also for us with the sheer volume of people that are coming through our doors.

“We’ve been crunching the figures today [Sept 2] and we’ve had 2,700-something visits between September last year and August this year.”

However, Mr Roberts said the building has not been touched for up to 40-years and needs an “awful lot of work” to bring it into modern-day standards.

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This will require fundraising and support to fix some of the issues such as the electrics.

He also said the project has plans to incorporate a community café to get people into a traineeship program to give purpose as well as learning life and work skills.