Canopy Housing Project - Leeds

Background

In 1996 Juliette Darby and Mark Stevens two local residents got together to address the problems of the large numbers of derelict and empty properties in the Burley Lodge area of Leeds. They wanted to get local people involved, particularly those who were young and disadvantaged and in the process create self-help opportunities for homeless people to work to create decent homes for themselves.

1998 - Canopy started working with the Leeds City Council and Leeds Federated Housing Association to access empty properties and got their first house in October 1997. Canopy officially registered as an Industrial and Provident Society for the benefit of the community. Volunteer involvement  still continues to grow and Canopy volunteers set up Hyde Park Source, working to renovate bin yards in Burley Lodge area.

1999 - Work is completed on the project base with kitchen, workshop, office and meeting facilities. Canopy Apprenticeship Project scheme implemented.

2000 - Development work starts for replicating Canopy’s work into the Beeston Hill area of South Leeds.

2001 - The project in South Leeds gets started, called Beecan (Beeston Canopy) it starts work on the project resource centre at 114 Lady Pit Lane. The window box scheme is implemented through the Burley Lodge area.

2002 - Canopy expands to commence a bin yard project in East End Parkand over the next two years renovates 42 bin yards to create communal areas for residents. In Hyde Park the last house (20th) is completed in the area and within months the first house in Beeston is started.

2004 - Canopy begins to formerly develop its work with the refugee and asylum community, providing housing and volunteer opportunities amongst its existing diverse beneficiaries. It shares office space with refugee community organisations.

2006 - Canopy says no thanks to the Supporting People program and undergoes restructuring to refocus on the housing renovations and volunteer program in Beeston. It also start to take on some properties in Holbeck.

2007 - The project has now worked with over 400 volunteers and completed a total of 36 property renovations.
The volunteer program is awarded the Investing in Volunteers standard.

2008 - Canopy begins work in Harehills with the support of many local volunteers and organisations. ENEHL supports Canopy with the provision of empty homes, the first of which is turned into a workshop and office with facilities for volunteers, tenants and local residents.

2009 - Canopy continued renovations in Harehills and celebrated a 5-year Big Lottery grant to fund the Harehills project. 100 volunteers contributed an astonishing 1227 days in total.

 

Project

Canopy housing project is governed by a management committee made up of about six to nine people. Together they are the legally responsible body that oversees the work. The management committee brings expertise from many walks of life to Canopy and are from backgrounds which represent the kind of people Canopy work with e.g. people from other community organisations, training providers and referral agencies, and the local authority and other statutory agencies. The committee also represents and includes the people that Canopy was set up to help, the tenants,  volunteers and local community.

Canopy works on the following objectives:

Renovations
Canopy renovates empty and derelict houses that have been standing vacant for years, and transforms them into homes through working with local volunteers and tenants.

Housing
Provides decent affordable accommodation for people that are homeless or in housing need and gives them the opportunity to decorate and personalise their own home.

Community
Canopy brings together many individuals from different communities in the local area, including people from different age groups and with differing abilities. DIY and building skills are valuable and many people from different backgrounds are keen to work together and learn from each other’s experiences and skills. There is a real need for projects like Canopy that can pull different strands of the community together and overcome ignorance and prejudice.

Volunteering
Canopy's volunteers are an enthusiastic, interesting and diverse group of people from the local community and local schools and they learn to do the practical work to renovate the houses, including light building work, plastering, painting, decorating, carpeting and tiling. Volunteers can receive support from Canopy to help find training and work as well as going togther on social trips to celebrate when a house is finished.

Tenants
Canopy provides a ‘self-help’ housing opportunity for people that are homeless, which means they have the opportunity to participate in the renovation and decorating of their new home alongside the volunteers and can choose how they would like their house to look prior to moving in.

Environment
Empty and derelict houses blight an area and can become sites for vandalism and rubbish dumping. The involvement of local people and the small size of the project enable Canopy to renovate the properties, maintain lengthy tenancies and to respond to anti-social behaviour and maintenance problems quickly. All this contributes to improving the quality of the environment for local residents.
 

Impact

 Testimonials from existing volunteers

“I first heard about canopy last year through a job search scheme. I was only there for about a week but in that week I met nice, helpful down to earth people. I also learnt skills that I never thought I would be able to do. I enjoyed my time there that much I came back as a proper volunteer. Again I have only been here a short while but I have learnt lots of new, useful skills and I have met lots of new friends. Its like one big happy family, I am loving it.” Adele

“Hello I’m FREY D. working as a volunteer at Canopy. I’m a student at Leeds Thomas Danby but when I’ve got free time or a week off, I spend it with Canopy because, believe me, there is a lot of thing to discover about the project. Once you’re in, you can’t get out, there is so much fun. There is no just a re-housing involved, you meet different people from different countries, and there is equality between people so we look up to each other and respect each others standpoint and religion. Sometime we go out for trips, paint ball, bowling, or climbing. At Canopy, everyone cares about people who do not have a house, when I first came there, I could not speak properly and understand English because I’m a French, but a few weeks staff at Canopy helped me and I started to improve my language step by step, it was hard but they help me. I also learned about building, how to do plastering; tiling; carpeting; decorating and more stuff like this. Why not coming and discover by yourself what I’m trying to explain about it and enjoy the same feeling that we all have about the project.” Frey

“Initially I came to Canopy to keep myself busy and get involved in social activities, but I realized that Canopy is helping needy which gave me satisfaction and stimulation to be a regular part of Canopy. Canopy is a project to provide homes for homeless and refurbish the ruined properties. Simultaneously Canopy's volunteer program provides opportunities for different age groups of varied cultures to learn practical skills and positive behaviour towards the society. Canopy also invests in recreational activities for volunteers time by time. I have been working here since two years and got the chance to interact with multicultural people of different ages. I have done a lot of DIY work in various properties which gave me confidence to share my skills with other volunteers. I really admire the help and assistance Canopy provided during all these years.” Ansari
 

Lessons Learned

• Talk to local people and get to know the area
• Self- help housing model gives the tenants a true sense of ownership
• Establish a Health and Safety Policy and make sure everyone is aware of it
• Encourage financial stability, where appropriate bu y as many properties as possible
• Build strong working partnerships with the Council
• Apply for funding in advance
   

Reference

Steve Hoey
Canopy Housing Project
114 Lady Pit Lane
Beeston
Leeds LS11 6EE
T: 0113 294 6868
E: steve@canopyhousing.org
W: http://www.canopyhousingproject.org/contact.html