A LOCAL housing association is bringing festive cheer to residents in its temporary accommodation service this Christmas through a personalised gift initiative.

Curo, a not-for-profit housing association and house builder providing homes and support services in the West of England, is spreading holiday goodwill through its Gifts for Good scheme, where colleagues purchase personalised presents to ensure residents in temporary accommodation feel remembered during the festive season.

Kirstie De Beaufort, colleague trainer, came up with the idea when she noticed colleague Kai Fletcher, a support worker in Curo’s homelessness service, asking for gift donations for customers in need. They developed the Gifts for Good pilot scheme, asking customers in temporary accommodation what would brighten their holidays.

Kirstie said: “We wanted to go beyond generic gifts and make our customers feel truly seen. There was such a buzz in the office as people read the requests and rushed to help. It was incredibly touching to see how relatable the wishes were.”

Once they’d collected the wishes, Kirstie and Kai hung tags with the gift requests on a Christmas tree in the reception at Curo’s offices, The Maltings, Bath.

Gift request tags hang on a Christmas tree at Curo's Bath office, where colleagues choose personalised presents for residents in temporary accommodation.
Gift request tags hang on a Christmas tree at Curo's Bath office, where colleagues choose personalised presents for residents in temporary accommodation. (CURO)

One tag read: ‘Single male in his 30s, would love a radio to help keep his loneliness at bay.’ These simple but meaningful requests resonated with colleagues, and more than 100 tags were taken in just a few hours.

Once the presents were returned to the office, colleagues then volunteered to wrap them and they were gifted to the customers.

Becky Allen, service manager at Curo, said: “The customers who live in our temporary accommodation have often experienced homelessness and a loss of connection. These personalised gifts show care and kindness in a way that makes them feel valued and supported.”

Curo provides emergency temporary accommodation to homeless single people and families. They offer supported accommodation and assist people with a very wide range of issues to obtain and maintain a permanent tenancy in the future, helping them to avoid coming through the system again.

Curo have places for 23 households at one project in Bath, as well as in flats throughout the area. They also have two schemes for 31 homeless individuals in Weston-super-Mare.