Our History

In April 1987 Sister Eileen O'Mahony, a Daughter of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, was asked to come to Luton to work in support of mainly young Irish immigrants.

Sister Eileen soon saw there was a wider homeless problem in Luton and persuaded the Management Committee to open a Day Centre to care for all those who were deprived in this way.

In 2000, at the sprightly age of 75, Sister Eileen took retirement and Jim O'Connor joined NOAH as Chief Executive.

Coming from a commercial background in Finance and General Management, Jim also brought a wealth of charitable experience including 5 year term (1997 - 2002) as National President of the St Vincent de Paul Society in England and Wales

Under Jim's leadership NOAH has developed a holistic approach to supporting people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

Today, NOAH Enterprise is providing an even wider than ever range of services to more people than ever from our three sites in Luton. We plan to move into purpose-built premises within the next couple of years. Visit The Luton Ark page for further details.

NOAH Timeline

1989 The first Day Centre opens in Brook Street, Luton
1991 The Day Centre moves to its current location in Park Street, Luton
1993 The service widens to include all socially excluded people. More than 70 people a day are now visiting the Centre
1994 Training courses start and Furniture Link, a project providing second-hand furniture and work experience opportunities, is born
1999 Winner of the Beacon Award for Sustainable Community Development
A dedicated Training Centre is opened by H.M. Queen Elizabeth
2003 Furniture Link moves to its current location in Church Street, Luton
2004 Outline planning approval granted for The Luton Ark
Winner of Best Small/Medium Sized Business of the Year, Bedfordshire & Luton Business Excellence Award 2004
Medical care is made more frequent with a chiropodist and dentist attending the Centre regularly. New activities and workshops, drug and alcohol support and outreach are introduced. A dedicated counsellor is employed
2005 White goods are added to the range at Furniture Link
2007 Full planning consent granted for The Luton Ark
Street Outreach service introduced
2008 Winner of The John Laing Charitable Trust Large Day Centre of the Year Award
Third retail outlet The Arkaid opens
NOAH's Housing Outreach Service extends to Bedford
2009 Social Enterprise operations move to the Luton Borough Council Waste Management Site at Portland Road

What's In a Name?

NOAH has seen 4 name changes since 1987. Each name change reflects the evolution of our work and growing number of people we serve: