Darlington Housing Action Group

Late in 1994 the Darlington Housing Action Group made a public appeal, asking 700 people to lend £50 for two years. The vision was that this would raise £35,000, enough to buy a terraced property and convert it to accommodate four or five homeless people. The young were seen as particularly vulnerable. Some could find temporary shelter through the Darlington Nightstop project. Others did not qualify for Darlington Nightstop and fell through that safety net.
The vision was to meet a real need in a specific, though limited way. Thus the appeal was launched, with a mock doorway placed on Darlington High Row, Tony Blair MP and Allan Milburn MP both attended, people pledged and donated money and the vision began to take shape.