9 May 2007 - FORMAL OPENING OF NEW GARDEN / PATIO AREA AND CHRIS FOSTER HOUSE BECOMES A SMOKE FREE HOSTEL
The Mayor of Stevenage, Councillor Simon Speller, officially opened the new garden / patio area at Chris Foster House on Wednesday 9th May. Chris Foster House is Stevenage Haven's emergency single homeless hostel providing shelter and support to 14 men and 4 women aged 16 and above. Ex-residents also continue to access the day services at Chris Foster House.
VIEW THE COMET STORY HERE
VIEW THE OPENING PHOTO GALLERY HERE
Since moving to Chris Foster House in 2003 the garden area had turned into a muddy piece of ground, the grass having died due to the overhanging trees. The garden was therefore largely unusable by staff and residents for a lot of the year and mud was frequently carried into the house when residents and staff did go outside. Over the last year this area has been transformed into a paved patio area which also includes a pergola with light and heating providing an outside smoking area. Improvements have also been made to the rest of the garden including additional planting and creation of a rockery area.
VIEW THE GARDEN DEVELOPMENT OVER THE LAST YEAR PHOTO GALLERY HERE
A resident competition was held to name the smoking area and the Mayor announced the winning entry which was 'Huff & Puff'. Although hostels are exempt from the new no smoking legislation which comes into force on July 1st, Stevenage Haven introduced a No Smoking policy at Chris Foster House from May 1st to protect and improve the health and safety of residents, staff, volunteers, and visitors. Support and assistance will also be provided to staff, residents and volunteers who wish to give up smoking.
The majority of the garden and construction work, which has involved a huge amount of back breaking effort, has been carried out by volunteer residents and ex-residents with assistance from staff and sessional staff. A community service team has also been involved in a variety of work projects to improve the garden area and a team from Stevenage Vineyard have also helped. The slabs for the patio were donated free of charge by Marshalls while Buildbase provided materials at a discounted rate and these donations were arranged by CRASH the construction industry charity supporting single homeless people. A Stevenage in Bloom grant together with donations of plants from Holy Trinity Church have provided a range of new plants and hanging baskets. We are very grateful to all who have helped to make this project happen and we would also like to thank those who donated to the scheme.
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