Choice Services have teamed up with JP Corry and Rexel to help out Kids Together, a community service group on the Stewartstown Road in Belfast.
Kids Together is a day centre and support service for children and young people with additional needs. It is a thriving hub of activity, which provides much needed support services for the children as well as their parents and carers. Kids Together have been growing rapidly, in particular since 2016 when they moved into their premises on the Stewartstown Road. The expansion has been to such an extent that the configuration of the building was no longer fit for purpose. The space within the building included a small office on the top floor and another compact office on the middle floor, which was not practical for the number of people who work there, which included 13 staff on a day-to-day basis.
Choice are invested in the communities they serve and they understand their role as a housing association is more than a being simply a landlord. To help this vital service provider maintain its high standards of support and care, Choice Services as part of the Choice Group, worked with Kids Together to reconfigure a new layout to provide a better use of space for the community group. Choice Services material suppliers JP Corry and Rexel joined forces to provide materials. The actual building works were carried out over a period of seven days and nights, completing over a weekend to cause as little disruption to the staff as possible. The works included forming an opening between two spaces, closing up a door opening, plastering, lighting, data trunking, benching for work stations, joinery, flooring and decoration. The office space has been transformed to provide a more aesthetically pleasing and practical place to work, the overall space now provides privacy for support staff discuss their cases; it also allows the children to have a separate day room.
“We would like to extend a big thank-you to Choice for the work they have just completed in Kids Together Belfast. We would also like to especially thank Michael McDonnell (Choice Group Chief Executive) for all his support; he has gone out of his way to support our community organisation, who support children, young people with disabilities and their families.
The final product was amazing, the new office space is bright and spacious and all our workers have their space, I will imagine their productivity will increase due to the comfort and accessibility of their new space!” Mairead McCrea, Kids Together
Michael McDonnell, Choice Group Chief Executive added: “Choice, Choice Services and our partners at JP Corry and Rexel worked together to enrich the lives of our community and we are proud of our contribution. The importance of the work done by everyone at Kids Together cannot be over stated. Families and children in this area rely on their services throughout the year”.
