Building a new shop to support a homeless shelter become self-sustainable
Community: Emmaus St Albans, UK
Partners: CRASH and Ryder
Emmaus St Albans provides over 30 homeless people every year with a safe home environment, training and support to rebuild their lives. We worked with the companions to explore opportunities for unused land behind their building, and develop a vision for how the shelter could become self-sustaining. Their idea was to build a new shop which sells donated goods, and items companions have upcycled.
St Albans, UK
We evaluated the project after the building opened. Read more.
“It has made a lot of difference to how much income we bring in, because we’ve got more space to sell things, more room to get things done, so rather than having a lot of sold stuff on the shop floor, it’s out of the way so we can put fresh stock in.”
The expanded retail space has resulted in:
Increased safety in the management of stock coming into and out of the shop - greater ease of working
More opportunities for companions to work and develop their skills
Fewer mistakes, particularly around merchandising - greater confidence working on the shop floor
Reduced friction between companions and customers
A greater sense of place and belonging in the building
More professional layout of goods
