Supporting Those Who Support Others: Watertight’s Work with YMCA & Helping Herts Homeless

3 Feb

1 February 2025

At Watertight, we believe flood resilience should be accessible to all, especially those working tirelessly to support vulnerable people in our communities. That’s why we were proud to carry out pro bono flood prevention work at The Sanctuary, a residential support facility in Hitchin operated by One YMCA and supported by Helping Herts Homeless.

The Sanctuary has experienced multiple flood events over the past two years, posing not only property risks but emotional and practical strain for staff and residents alike.

We were pleased to step in and help add resilience measures to this vital building, free of charge, so it can continue offering safety and stability to those who need it most.

Charles Gidigbi, Accommodation Services Manager, North Herts, One YMCA: “Your staff were courteous and very professional in the way they went about their work… We’ve been flooded three times in the past two years and the work you carried out will go a long way in helping to safeguard the property and help to keep our residents and staff safe.”

Our team installed a range of Property Flood Resilience (PFR) measures and spent time on site to make sure staff knew how to deploy them correctly, in the event of a flood warning.

Owain Lister, Chair of Trustees, Helping Herts Homeless said: “The guys were great to deal with and the work looks very neat and tidy. These measures will really help in any future floods, so we want to say a massive thanks to Watertight from the trustees at Helping Herts Homeless and the staff and residents.”

Helping Herts Homeless is a small charity with a big impact, distributing over £20,000 last year to partner organisations tackling homelessness across Hertfordshire.

By donating our time and expertise, we are proud to have played a small part in supporting that work.