Together Housing: Halifax allotments transformed for young people's charity thanks to volunteers

When Invictus Wellbeing – a charity that supports young people’s mental health – took over the space in Pellon, it realised the area needed a lot of work.

Three allotment beds had become shrouded behind weeds, overgrown grass, and brambles – making the area difficult for young people to use.

Founder of the charity, Chris Georgiou, reached out to Together Housing’s grounds maintenance Co-ordinator, Spencer Lister, to see if he and his team could give some of their time and skills to getting the allotment cleaned up.

Following a quick visit to the site, Spencer enlisted the help of his colleague Karl Smith and a few of his recently trained apprentices.

Karl, who is an environmental services work skills tutor for Together Housing, carried out the job along with four of his students.

Karl said: “We were all equally dedicated to getting the allotment cleared up.

"Right from the start, we knew this would be a big job but knowing the allotment would be offered to young people who can really benefit from getting stuck in with it was worth it.

“I’m glad I could offer my work experience students this opportunity to get a great final job in at the end of their course and one they can be really proud of too.”

Now, the allotment is thriving with newly-planted vegetables and fruits.

Chris said: “We’re grateful to Spencer and the team at Together Housing for giving up their time and labour.

"Their hard work has already been gratefully received by the young people we support who have got stuck in planting pumpkins, courgettes, strawberries, peppers and even tomatoes.

“Using the allotment is a fantastic way to give young people vital life skills and the impact of that will last them for many years to come. We are excited for what the future holds and we can’t wait to see our produce this autumn.”

Spencer said: “It was a pleasure to help Invictus Wellbeing out with their project. The work that they do is crucial.”