NOAH has been working for more than 30 years to provide hope and support for people who are struggling and have nowhere else to turn.
With their primary operations taking place in Luton, they provide services to people experiencing and at risk of homelessness with the aim to reduce rough sleeping, improve resilience and self-esteem, and help people into work.
They offer a range of services including their Street Outreach Team, who support individuals sleeping rough on the street; the NOAH Academy, offering training and employment; and their Welfare Centre, open 365 days a year and offering a whole range of services from hot food and showers, to GP surgeries and mobile dentistry.
NOAH’s current premises are made up of a mixture of different portacabins and units that are assembled and joined together and a recent condition report advised there could be RAAC present in the building fabric.
The charity was naturally concerned that this and other potential issues may mean that the premises constituted a structural risk. Facing a potential large cost to this investigation, they turned to the LandAid Pro Bono Programme for support. LandAid were able to match them with Craddys, a Civil and Structural Engineering Design Consultancy.
Project Engineer, Leah Deverick, generously offered to undertake the RAAC survey, which saved this small charity valuable funds and helped them to ensure the safety of their premises.