Harrison Housing (formerly The Harrison Homes) was originally founded in 1869 as ‘Homes for the Aged Poor’ by Miss Goodwin Green and three sisters, Elizabeth, Amy and Clara Harrison.  Like many Victorian benefactors, they were moved by the poverty and hardship suffered by their staff, respectable people who fell on hard times when leaving a lifetime of service, having to enter the workhouse during their later years.
 
Their first 8-bedroom house in Portland Road, West London, was acquired in 1869 as an experiment and became home to sixteen residents - either married couples or friends sharing.  Thanks to many donations of both houses and money, by 1899 the charity had fifteen houses housing 172 residents.

In 1881, No’s 7-13 Minford Gardens had been purchased as were more of the houses in the terrace as they became available. Today, behind the original façade of No’s 7-17, is a Sheltered Scheme home to twenty residents in refurbished self contained one bedroom flats.

The first property in St James’s Square (now Gardens) – No 42, formerly the Convent of The Little Sisters of the Assumption, was purchased in 1911 followed by No 43 in 1912.  Over the next eighty years more houses were purchased, the last being No 47.

Since 1965 there has been a preservation Order on all the houses in St James’s Gardens.  In 1968 Trustees decided to build additional accommodation to the rear of No’s 42-43 housing a further 16 residents.
At No’s 42 – 50 St James’s Gardens today the charity houses 48 retired residents in refurbished one bedroom flats.

Harrison Housing was incorporated in 2004 with the aim of giving the Charity a modern constitution. 

Harrison Housing now manages, on its own account and on behalf of other Almshouse Charities, sheltered housing schemes in Camden, Herne Hill, Hounslow, Waltham Abbey, West Hackney, Spitalfields and Streatham – a total of almost 150 owned and managed flats. 

There are 9 Trustees who give their services voluntarily and meet as frequently as necessary.

There is also a group of 7 voluntary Visitors, each of whom acts as confidant and friend to a number of residents, visiting them regularly.

Day to day administration is carried out by the professional staff under the Chief Executive (who reports to the Trustees). The staff includes a Director of Finance, Finance Officers, Operations Manager, Development Consultant, Secretary, Scheme Managers and Relief Scheme Managers. Ancillary staff comprises part-time cleaners, and a caretaker / handyman.  

In 2003 Harrison Housing carried out a constitutional review and restructuring. Our mission is to provide high quality housing and support to older people in London, and management services to other Almshouse Charities in the area. We obtained certification from the Centre for Sheltered Housing Studies for their Code of Practice on two occasions.  We have Preferred Partner Status with The Homes and Communities Agency and all Almshouse bids for funds for improvement and development are channelled through Harrison Housing for the whole of the Country.
We are clearly committed to continuous improvement in all aspects of our work. 

This has resulted in us forming a variety of partnerships and alliances with Almshouse Charities in London and significant growth in the number of units under management. We foresee this growth continuing as trustees of Almshouse Charities within our area recognise the need for professional services for their residents and to meet the ever growing regulatory burden upon them. 

In 2004 we began the management of Greenwoods Almshouses on behalf of the Leonard Hackett Memorial Trust (a subsidiary of the Almshouse Association). We successfully managed to turn a deficit to surplus and in the process carried out a total refurbishment of the property. A Housing Corporation Audit carried out after the project congratulated us on the quality of our work and had no issues regarding our management services. Greenwoods Almshouses Trust was then merged with Harrison Housing.  

In 2005 we took on the management of 11 Units in Herne Hill belonging to the Howis Trust. This charity was merged with Harrison Housing in June 2007 and its properties have now undergone a major refurbishment to bring them up to modern day standards, with the help of a grant from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Other Almshouse Charities managed by Harrison Housing include:

• Butchers & Drovers Charitable Institute, 12 units in Hounslow
• Norton Folgate Almshouse Charities, 11 units in Spitalfields
• Thrale Almshouse and Relief in Need Charity, 9 units in Streatham
• Waltham Abbey Non-Educational Parochial Charities, 11 units in Waltham Abbey
• West Hackney Almshouse Charity, 9 units in Hackney
• St. Giles in the Fields, 8 units in Covent Garden

However at the heart of all we do is the support and encouragement we give to our residents through the excellent work of our Scheme Managers and staff.

Discussions continue with other Almshouse Charities and we look forward to serving a wider community as the organisation grows and develops.