Housing

Homeless charity House of St Barnabas reopens after fire

The Soho townhouse has been helping the homeless since 1862

Celebrated London club and homeless charity The House of St Barnabas has reopened its doors after a fire damaged the building in March.

No one was hurt in the blaze at the Greek Street club on March 18,  but the house was closed for a short period to allow for cleaning and to prepare for repairs. It opened its doors again on Tuesday May 8.

The Grade 1-listed townhouse in Soho has been run as a charity to help those affected by homelessness since 1862, and has been home to a not-for-profit members club since 2013.

The venue also runs an employment training programme, with a goal “to create the strongest community of people  invested in creating a fair and equal society, where lasting work is a reality for people affected by homelessness”.

The employment academy has continued as usual, despite the recent fire, with the current participants of the Employment Preparation Programme graduating on May 3.

Sandra Schembri, the CEO of the House of St Barnabas, said:  “We are thrilled to welcome our members back into the House and we are soon to welcome the next round of participants on to our Employment Preparation Programme.

“We would like to thank the public for all their offers of help and support over the past few weeks to get ourselves back and running.”

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