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Bethany House Offical Opening

Mayor of Islington at Bethany House Official Open Day

On 24th October, the newly refurbished Bethany House was officially opened by the Mayor of Islington. In a relaxed atmosphere, a short film made by the residents entitled “Life in a Hostel” was shown and speeches were made in the main hall, residents acted as tour guides around the building and Cardboard Citizens played samba drums in the courtyard.

The plentiful refreshments were supplied by Peter Bedford Housing Association, residents and staff. The guest list included current and former residents, neighbours, partner organisations, the builders and project managers.

Assistant Manager, Janice Esten, has been at Bethany House since it was the YWCA and knows the building top to bottom. With the support from staff (especially Bob Tyler, Eileen Regan and Bridget McEvoy), Janice worked hard to ensure that the builders, residents and staff were able to work and live as harmoniously as possible whilst large parts of the house were a building site.

Janice told The Informed, “It was great that the day ran smoothly and to plan. It was also nice that so many people were there to help us celebrate on the day. Guests told me how pleased they were to see that residents were proud of where they lived.”

After all the guests had gone the residents were once again able to enjoy their home and were treated to a pizza delivery and danced in the hall until the early hours! (Rumour has it that they even cleared up after themselves!)

Since ICH purchased the building in 2003 it was always intended to have it refurbished. The £1.3 million project was assisted by a seven thousand pound grant from the Housing Corporation and took over a year to complete. ICH Management thanks residents and staff for their tolerance whilst the works were underway.

November 2007

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