Work on a shelter for homeless women and their children got a major boost that will “help put us over the finish line”, according to Sheelagh Cooper, the chairwoman of Habitat for Humanity Bermuda.

The Habitat ReStore in Hamilton this week donated $60,000 to the Transformational Living Centre project on North Street, where Habitat is renovating the former Pembroke Rest Home to create a home for ten struggling families.

Once the building is ready, the Women’s Resource Centre will take over its operation, including educational and therapeutic programmes.

Ms Cooper thanked “the hundreds of volunteers and the tremendous support we have received from the local building suppliers and skilled craftsmen that enabled us to complete the project well under budget”.

She also commended more than 45 companies and individual donors who have provided funds.

She added: “It must be noted as well, that without the willingness of the Pembroke Parish Council under the leadership of Patrika Ferguson, to provide the former Pembroke Rest Home at a nominal rent for 25 years, this project would never have been possible.”

The Habitat ReStore opened on Front Street in June 2020, following the model of other such stores in North America that help fund local Habitat for Humanity projects.

The Darling family provided the former Bluck’s site for its use, and Ms Cooper said there had been donations of “surprisingly beautiful and so often brand-new furniture and furnishings”.

Habitat and Habitat ReStore are both all-volunteer operations.