Community resource centre looks forward to future as part of leading local homeless charity

Stay, a Telford-based charity focused on providing support and housing for young homeless people, has confirmed its acquisition of The Community Health and Enterprise Centre located in Madeley.

The centre, which launched in 1999, will continue to be known as the CHEC Centre but has a new logo to reflect its inclusion within the wider Stay organisation. Its focus will remain on promoting health and learning through access to information, services and training but moving forward, it will benefit from the additional resource of Stay which itself has a track record in Telford spanning over 20 years.

Speaking of the acquisition, John Green, Chief Executive at Stay, commented: “Since its launch, CHEC has provided an invaluable service to the community not only in Madeley, but across Telford. It’s an organisation that we’ve been familiar with both through our own work and because the flats that sit above the centre in fact form part of our portfolio.

“We were, therefore, honoured to be approached by the Trustees of CHEC to take over ownership of the entire building and bring together the very best facets of each organisation.”

Terrianne Speak, speaking on behalf of CHEC, added: “Everyone at the centre is very much looking forward to our future as part of Stay, an organisation which has done so much to support many of the same vulnerable young people who we have historically engaged with.”

Legal advice has been provided to Stay by FBC Manby Bowdler for a number of years and so, when it came to the acquisition of CHEC, John Green was in no doubt that they were the firm to oversee negotiations: “Stuart Rea has always provided us with quality, friendly and professional advice, and during this latest development him and his team were both thorough and demonstrated a commitment to protecting our best interests. I’d have no doubt in recommending them to other not-for-profit organisations.”

Stuart Rea, a Partner within FBC Manby Bowdler’s Corporate Department and Head of the Firm’s Charities and Not-for-profit team, concludes: “Having worked with John and the team at Stay for a number of years, it was our pleasure to support them through this exciting time and I don’t doubt that the combined expertise of Stay and CHEC will deliver an enhanced service to those engaging with the services of the centre.”