Creating a new home for The Magpie Project and other community groups- £20,000
From "Forest Gate Community Assemblies"
Go to the project
Magpie Project community hub at the Hamfrith Centre
The Magpie Project is a charity based in Forest Gate which supports women with children under 5 who are living in temporary or insecure accommodation, in Newham and surrounding boroughs. We have been ‘living’ at Forest Lane Lodge on Magpie Close for the last two years, however our numbers have grown massively during the pandemic, and we have outgrown the space. We urgently need a new venue for our mums and their young children to come and play, make friends, and seek help to address the multiple issues they face.
Meanwhile, the Hamfrith Centre has been left derelict for the last two years and is currently a drain on council resources and a concern for neighbouring communities. We would use the money from the Community Assembly to transform the Hamfrith Centre into a beautiful and welcoming space for our mums and minis. As well as returning to building to its original purpose as an early-years space, we plan to set up a community laundry, community kitchen, and community garden, which would be available for local neighbours to use. The space would also be available for other community groups to hire, either for monetary payment or with services to our community (hours of volunteering, cleaning, cooking, or workshop spaces for our mums).
We are working in partnership with Newham council to bring the Hamfrith Centre back into use as a warm and welcoming community space, and an asset to the area. Funding from the Community Assembly would help to put our Magpie community and the wider Forest Gate community back at the heart of our local area.
