Foyer's Homeless World Cup reporters, David Gillespie and Natalie Jane Teese, met former Manchester United player and Homeless World Cup Ambassador, Eric Cantona.
David and Natalie met the football legend during an exclusive question and answer session for players at the Homeless World Cup, and the next day at a press conference. Cantona paid a visit to the players' lounge at the Dan Hostel so that they could ask him a few questions, accompanied by the tournament's founder, Mel Young.
The two Foyer residents had been chosen to report on this year's Homeless World Cup football tournament in Copenhagen from 28 July to 5 August, thanks to funding from the electrical retailer Dixons, as part of the three year partnership between the Foyer Federation and DSG International, owners of Dixons.
David Gillespie, from Cumbernauld YMCA Foyer in Scotland, and Natalie Jane Teese, from Eastbourne Foyer, traveled to Copenhagen to report for BBC Sport and the official Homeless World Cup website - capturing the life stories of people involved in the Homeless World Cup.
David and Natalie were also joined by Kate Wilson, a former Foyer resident and Homeless World Cup Foyer reporter, and were lucky enough to get tickets to the Chelsea v Brøndby pre-season friendly; courtesy of Richard Brown from the Big Issue in the North, the street paper that organises the England Homeless World Cup Team.
Coventry Foyer opened in November 2002 and provides accommodation and support for disadvantaged young people between the ages of 16 -25 years. Its intention is to equip young people with confidence and skills, so that they can move on to independent living and access employment and training opportunities and further their career prospects.
Specialist staff and partnerships provide practical advice and training to support the personal development programme of each resident. Progress is consolidated and strengthened though a mentoring system, where achievable targets are set and progress is regularly measured. The modern facilities are available for use by the wider community throughout Coventry & Warwickshire area.
The Coventry Foyer provides 63 en-suite bed-study rooms, two dedicated training rooms, a training kitchen, a cafeteria, lounge and recreation rooms. A focal point of the complex is the extensive training facilities, including an Information Technology Suite. These facilities encourage residents and others using the Foyer to acquire new skills in a stimulating environment that builds on the capacity for independent living.
Coventry Foyer offers:
Through the Foyer Federation's partnership with DSG International's Switched on Communities programme, staff from Currys stores across the UK got together with residents from Coventry Foyer on 16 August 2007 for their Build a Bike Campaign. The aim of the day was to develop the relationship between Currys staff and Foyer residents, building bikes from scratch and making a DVD of the process. At the end of the day the young people who had taken part rode home on brand new bicycles.
For more information about Coventry Foyer please visit www.coventryfoyer.org.
Foyer in Focus is contributed by the Foyer Federation. For further information, contact Louise Meincke, Policy and Communications Officer: louise@foyer.net; tel. 020 7430 2212.
The Foyer Federation's website address is www.foyer.net
