Official Launch of The Castle, Downham Market

The Castle is The Purfleet Trust’s new housing initiative, developed to help people experiencing homelessness on their pathway out of homelessness and towards brighter futures.. The project will give vulnerable people access to suitable and affordable move on accommodation, alongside bespoke and structured support to support their journey.

The Castle is made up of a 4 bed HMO and 9 self-contained flats, supporting a total of 13 people. The property is in the heart of Downham Market, with access to the town centre, local services, supermarkets and transport links.

We were delighted to be joined by members of the local community as we came together for launch of the Castle, which was kindly opened by The Lady Dannatt, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk.

The Castle is part of our ‘Stepping Stones Housing Pathway‘ model – a structured programme that provides Assured Shorthold Tenancy combined with tenancy sustainment reviews and support. Providing a period of stability before sustaining long-term housing has been proven to be hugely successful in helping people to move on from homelessness for good. This is reflected at our Training Houses – an existing project that has supported hundreds of people to successfully move onto and sustain their own tenancies.

We have long been dedicated to identifying and meeting the often complex needs of our clients – so the ability to be dynamic and to introduce new projects is vital. With the support from local business, we have been able to react to the acute housing needs faced by vulnerable people in our area over the past few years through the launch of the Castle.

We are extremely grateful for the support of local businesses in making the Castle housing initiative possible. Our partners have worked tirelessly over the past few years to turn this innovative idea into reality and we are delighted to have supported the first tenants into the property over the past few weeks. Encouraging further private investment into similar housing initiatives is vital if we are to meet the needs of people experiencing homelessness and vulnerability in our area.

The opening gave tenants the opportunity to share powerful stories of overcoming adversity and looking forward to brighter futures at the Castle. The overarching feeling from the tenants was that they felt safe; for some for the first time in a long time.

It was truly inspiring to see tenants invite guests into their flats and show them around with real pride, confidence and positivity.

This feeling of positive futures is what the Castle is all about. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the Castle, and most importantly, the people that it supports.