Greenstream Flooring CIC was established to divert flooring from landfill, provide employment and to help those in need in the local community. We have good experience of supporting people with mental health wellbeing with work confidence and providing long-term employment.
We were approached recently by local homelessness charity, Llamau, to assist with providing flooring to a young person who had been supported to move into his own flat, but sadly, the flat was not yet equipped with any flooring, just a bare floor.
Llamau is one of Wales’ leading homelessness charities, supporting young people and women who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The charity are well-known for their work around homelessness prevention, supporting young people and women before they reach a point of crisis, as well as providing supported accommodations, outreach support and domestic abuse services.
Llamau work with registered social landlords operating in RCT to provide suitable and permanent accommodation under the Housing First for Youth project, which works with young people from 16 – 24 years of age.
We were asked if we could help provide flooring to a vulnerable young person as they had very limited funds and were in need of flooring to make their new home habitable. Sadly, we hear of this situation all too often, as it is common practice for social new lets not to provide flooring. This was highlighted last year in a report entitled “Floored” which was commissioned by TPAS Cymru, and to which we also contributed. * Some social tenants end up living without carpets or appropriate flooring for many years, which, in many cases, can have a serious impact on the health and wellbeing of the tenants.
We supplied and fitted reused grey carpet tiles to the one bedroom flat in Taffs Well and the young man commented afterwards: “The carpet in my flat was fitted today and I am so pleased, because my flat looked bare before and did not feel like a home. It looks so much better and feels a lot more homely and I know I want to stay and live there now, thank you so much.”
Ellen Petts, founder and managing director, Greenstream Flooring CIC, said: “This is a great example of why I wanted to set up Greenstream. Not only have we diverted carpet tiles from landfill, we have also supplied free flooring to someone in genuine need.”
Emma Lacey, Project Manager (RCT Housing First for Youth) also commented: “We cannot thank Greenstream enough for their help supporting this young man. So many people take things like having a carpet for granted, but it helps make a house a home for a young person we’re supporting. It creates a feeling of home and comfort, which in turn supports mental health and wellbeing.”
*Floored – provision of appropriate flooring in social housing by TPAS Cymru and Tai Pawb October 2020
For information on Llamau please visit their website https://www.llamau.org.uk/
For information on Greenstream Flooring CIC please visit www.findcarpettiles.co.uk
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Greenstream Flooring CIC is a social enterprise and was established in 2008 in response to the number of carpet tiles being wasted and sent to landfill. We recognized that there is life left in these carpet tiles and as well as the carbon saved, we can provide flooring at low cost to those in need.
Our mission is to maximise the community benefit from the sales and reuse of flooring in the UK. We also maximise the potential of staff and volunteers to that they can positively contribute to their local communities. Consequently, we can then provide low-cost flooring to households on a low income, providing them with the warmth and comfort that flooring provides.
We work with several companies to take-back carpet tiles that are no longer required and ensure they are reused and recycled; and actively work with organisations who share our vision to create a circular economy.
Greenstream Flooring CIC are multi-award winners winning Wales Social Enterprise of the Year, CIH Cymru Innovation of the Year, IWA Environmentalist Award, Outstanding Social Enterprise category in the Wales Sustainability Academy Awards in 2019, and latterly the Reuse Member of the Year award for the fifth time organised by Carpet Recycling UK.
For more information visit www.findcarpettiles.co.uk
Media enquiries:
Greenstream Flooring CIC contact: Karen Howell karen@gsflooring.org.uk / 07966 192597