More than 30 members of staff from Fidelis MGU recently lent hands-on support to turn a former church rectory in Sandys into a residential treatment centre.

As the project reaches its final stages, the volunteers sanded walls and woodwork in preparation for painting.

The old St James’s Church rectory — Bridge House — is to be repurposed as a facility for community-based housing, programmes and support for people with mental-health challenges.

Habitat for Humanity of Bermuda developed the project in partnership with the Anglican Church of Bermuda and the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.

The “energetic” team from Fidelis MGU spent a day at the property, where one group attended in the morning and another helped in the afternoon.

Hewvonnie Brown, the on-site project manager, said: “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when you have a group like that working together.”

Sheelagh Cooper, the chairwoman of Habitat for Humanity of Bermuda, added: “We’re doubly blessed because not only has Fidelis MGU been a hands-on partner, but we also received a $25,000 donation from The Fidelis Foundation to Habitat a few months ago.

“We are fortunate to receive this sort of support from the corporate community.”

The charity explained that the facility will allow patients to move out of the MWI institutional setting and into a purpose-designed home environment, with around-the-clock treatment and support from the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

It added: “This project is made possible because of the generosity of St James Anglican Church, who have leased their former rectory for a very nominal rent to be used for this charitable purpose.”