Tag: Dean and Cauvin Young People's Trust

A new house in North Edinburgh for care-experienced young people

Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust – one of Scotland’s oldest children’s charities – are delighted to announce the opening of our new custom-built house in north Edinburgh for Edinburgh’s care-experienced young people. 

Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust have served the children and young people of Edinburgh since 1733. Over the years we have continued to develop and adapt our support to meet the needs of our changing city.

Today we provide a fostering service for teenagers, a Wellbeing Hub, a range of community support for young families and a unique specialist house for young mums and babies.

Our new house in north Edinburgh has been built in partnership with Harbour Homes with CCG (Scotland) Ltd as the main contractor. T

he house will provide a home for young people aged 15-21. Five young people will have their own en-suite rooms, a range of shared living and wellbeing spaces and gardens. Our dedicated staff will work with each young person to help them on those first steps towards adulthood, education and work.

Gary Dewar CEO of Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust said: “Our new house in north Edinburgh is the result of many years of close collaboration with our colleagues at Harbour Homes.

“We aspired to create a vibrant and welcoming ‘place of hope’ where young people are valued, part of their community and helped to take the next steps in their lives. Today marks the start of an exciting new chapter for Dean and Cauvin”.

Jaslin Bhagrath, Chair of the Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust Board said: “We are a proudly local charity, and our new house is an investment in our city and in our ambition for young people.

“This could not have been possible without the hard work of our staff, board members and young people and with the additional help of independent funders and community members who contributed time, money and passion to help us realise this.”

Heather Kiteley, Chief Executive at Harbour Homes said: “We have enjoyed collaborating with Dean and Cauvin on this custom-built house which five young people will soon call home.

“There is a real sense of excitement after the opening, and I look forward to seeing how this new Edinburgh community thrives in months and years to come.”

More than 300 affordable homes coming to Granton later this year

Harbour Homes is working with Cairn Housing Association to create 306 homes at Granton Harbour (Plot S), which are due to welcome their first tenants in autumn 2023. There will be 96 affordable properties for Harbour Homes to provide social housing and 130 Harbour Lettings homes for mid market rent. The remaining 80 properties will be social rent homes for Cairn Housing Association.

A seven-bedroom independent living home and office space with an adjoining one-bedroom flat are also being built for Dean and Cauvin Young People’s Trust to support people in the care system. Dean and Cauvin provide accommodation for young people (from ages 15-21) as well as supporting their transition to living independently.

Pamela Kidd (left), Chief Executive at Dean and Cauvin and Harbour Group Chief Executive Heather Kiteley (right).

Following a visit to the site Heather Kiteley, Group Chief Executive of Harbour (formerly Port of Leith Housing Association), said: “This development is going to offer so much to the local community in Granton and continue our dedication to providing affordable homes in Edinburgh.

“The progress that has been made at this site is great to see and I can’t wait to see the finished high-quality homes.”

Jason MacGilp, Cairn Housing Association Chief Executive, commented: “It is great to see the progress of this important development and we are looking forward to its completion this year.

“Our thanks go to the contractor team at CCG for their hard work on this high-quality scheme. Cairn are delighted to be working in partnership with Harbour Homes and with the City of Edinburgh Council to make a positive contribution to meeting housing needs and the wider regeneration of the waterfront.”

Young adults who visited the site and will be moving into Dean and Cauvin’s unit said: “We’re looking forward to fewer stairs, better beds, having double glazing and having better showers. Excited to be the first group of people to be staying there. Great that it’s next to the seaside!”

Staff from Dean and Cauvin commented: “There will be nicer conditions for staff and it will be good to have a nicer sleep-in room for staff.

“The new office being on the ground floor will mean it is closer to the main living space so everyone can stay connected. It should feel much more like a home. Bigger windows will allow in more light and fresh air.

“We’re most excited about having a laundry room and a nice dining area for everyone to eat together and socialise. It’ll be nice to have a purpose-built space just for us.”

(PICTURED – TOP L-R) Meg Deasley (Director of Property Services, Cairn), Rachel Fraser (Development Officer, Harbour Homes), Jason MacGilp (Chief Executive, Cairn), Heather Kiteley (Harbour Group Chief Executive), Gordon Cameron (Director of Group Operations, Harbour) and Susan Wilson (Development and Regeneration Manager, Cairn).