The History of Coatham House
Coatham House is a charitable organisation who provides supported accommodation to young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in the Redcar and Cleveland area.
It's history goes back to the late 1980s when a group of local activists and concerned individuals led by Charles Jolly worked to create a response to local homelessness problems.
The objective of this group was to create accommodation options for young single homeless people in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland. The initial project was the provision of specialist hostel provision with support.
The objective of this group was to create accommodation options for young single homeless people in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland. The initial project was the provision of specialist hostel provision with support.
The Charity and Company was incorporated in March 1993, working from the hostel site to develop a range of move on accommodation options with support for young people. The Charity developed projects across the borough of Redcar including work in the rural areas to the south of Redcar. By 2000 the Charity had the capacity to house more than 40 young people, today the charity houses 20 homeless clients (hostel and supported accommodation).
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The charities core vision remains the same as it was in 1993, to help young people secure and sustain suitable housing and the ability to intervene if tenancies are at risk of failure.
The charity has always kept a high staff to tenant ratio to focus as much support on the needs of the client group and to keep delivering the quality outcomes that the charity has a reputation for. |
In the last 27 years the charity gained a reputation for delivering increasingly innovative solutions to meet the needs of young homeless people in the area. It has built upon the strong foundations and core values from the initial group that run through the organisation, with a value driven staff team still delivering quality services to young people in a challenging environment.
The current governance team are focusing on the sustainability of the charity and future delivery options as we modernise services, building on the history and culture of the organisation over the past 28 years.
The current governance team are focusing on the sustainability of the charity and future delivery options as we modernise services, building on the history and culture of the organisation over the past 28 years.
Timeline
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1984 - Charles Jolly and a small group of like minded people set about fundraising, raising awareness, and campaigning for a hostel in Redcar.
1st Nov 1991 - Dr Margery Mowlam officially opened a hostel, named Coatham House after the ward in which it is situated. The Coatham House hostel accommodated up to seven young people who were supervised by a warden. 1995 - A manager and staff team replaced the warden at the hostel. 1996 - The first Coatham House 'stepping stone' property opened supporting a further four young people. |
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1998/2003 - Five stepping stone properties were acquired.
1999 - Coatham House's first office space was opened on Queen Street. 2002 - Coatham House received a Duke of York Community Initiative Award. 2005 - Coatham House received a Duke of York Community Initiative Award. 2005 - Coatham House opened a new office space on Redcar High Street. The new office building was named 'Charles Jolly House' after Coatham House's founder Charles Jolly. All the staff then moved from Queen Street to Charles Jolly House where Coatham House offices are still located to this day. |
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2009 - Received a Duke of York Community Initiative Award.
2010 - Coatham House Enterprises (the charity's trading arm) was established. 2010/2014 - General needs accommodation was developed, offering 8 tenancies for single people. 2012 - Received a Duke of York Community Initiative Award. 2013 - Re-loved charity shop & cafe opened on Redcar High Street. 1st Nov 2013 - Coatham House's original hostel closed after 22 years of operation as it was no longer fit for purpose. A new building was purchased in its place offering holistic services to young people. 4th Mar 2014 - Coatham House purchased a community facility in South Bank, Redcar & Cleveland. |
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2018Coatham House had managed some very challenging years through austerity and had to regroup its activities as a result of reduced income streams. The board approached a local social enterprise, Community Campus 87 to deliver management and development services, allowing the board time to develop and implement a recovery plan moving forward. |
2021The charity attracted new resources and are developing new partnerships to deliver it's core mission of providing supported accommodation to homeless young people in Redcar. The charity is planning to develop new projects to increase the numbers of homeless young people it can work with. The current management of the organisation is being provided by Community Campus 87 who are driving forward a change management agenda and modernising the charity. |
Coatham House has helped over 2,000 young people during the past 22 years, this figure continues to grow.
