Welcome home! MEC’s first building project completed

Our first MEC business is now up and running – a property development division which trains and employs ex-offenders in building and maintenance skills.

Working alongside Building Manager Dominic Mould is Apprentice Jason Hooper – the first member of a team which we will hope will grow quickly as they add more properties and maintenance contracts, and landscape gardening jobs.

The first project was the transformation of a run-down property in Gorton, East Manchester which now houses three Genetik students and an MEC apprentice (see above). The redevelopment even attracted the attention of the media – the BBC came to film work at the property in Wistaria Road and the story may be featured in a future episode of ‘Homes under the Hammer’.

But this is just the beginning for the business.

Simon Wrigley, manager of the MEC’s property development division, is also looking at how they can develop a number of ‘Houses of Hope’ across the city. They would answer a problem that ex-offenders often face upon release – finding themselves placed in poor-quality hostels with minimal support and lots of opportunity to fall back into destructive patterns.

‘They will be a first port of call for someone coming out of prison, as they find their feet back out in the real world and get into the rhythm of work and being mentored,’ says Simon. ‘The idea is that there will be someone employed nearby to each house to look out for them outside of working hours. From there they’ll go on to more permanent accommodation with support from local churches.’

Please pray with the team that God will open up the right property – perhaps in the Wythenshawe area or somewhere else close to Message HQ.