Homeless Street Angels: Founders of Leeds charity celebrate after securing 'dream' property to expand services
The founders of a Leeds charity are celebrating after they achieved a long-term goal which will allow them to expand their services.
Homeless Street Angels held a gala dinner at Leeds Marriott Hotel in June to help raise money for Abi House, a new centre that should enable the charity to help more vulnerable people in the city.
Named after founder’s Shelley and Becky Joyce’s sister who died when the charity was established in 2017, Abi House has always been the main goal for Homeless Street Angels.
With a £50,000 grant, £15,000 that was raised at the gala dinner, and all the other fundraising activities the sisters have done over the last seven years, Shelley said they are excited to announce that property 6 Sheepscar Court has been secured for Abi House.
Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Shelley said: “We decided that we would create a charity where we help people, teach them life skills.
“We needed somewhere like a base where people could pop in and get housing advice, recruitment advice.
“And we've been working towards this for the last seven years, so to actually get somewhere and have an offer accepted is amazing.
“It is taking almost every penny we've got. And it will be a legacy to leave behind. It's a huge achievement and it's been our dream since day one.”
Abi House will feature a reception area, furniture store, art room and a kitchen. It will also be home to a food bank, in response to the growing number of people on the charity’s register.
Shelley said: “We've been very lucky. We've had so much support from the local community, and there's some really good companies who have supported us as well over the years. I don't think we'd have managed without it.
“It was a really nice event. All our family were there. Abi’s daughters were there. It was very emotional. I think we're all in tears at one point, but it was just nice to sort of show the community of what we've done so far. “We're going to do another one next year, and it's going to be bigger and better next year.”
Abi House is expected to open in August 2024.