[KF] Funding has been announced for seven social entrepreneurs with bright business ideas to help tackle homelessness.
Through the Communities and Local Government backed Sparklers programme, £10,000 is allocated to market test the ideas and to develop business models.
The entrepreneurs are all receiving mentoring from established entrepreneurs, including Nigel Kershaw of the Big Issue, The Trees Group and corporate partner PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
The seven Sparklers receiving funding are:
Comedius - Michael Goodison, Derby (£1,000).
A big-picture project which aims to really engage the homeless and disadvantaged in live music, amongst other creative and performing arts.
Their enterprise model involves selling and performing 'The Buskers Album', which features homeless service users performing their tracks, and has been produced in partnership with Derby University and local artists.
Elev8 My Style - Stephanie Thomas, Hackney (£2,105).
This enterprise runs from a street market stall and aims to have a dual function in being a retail outlet for artisan goods produced by homeless and disadvantaged people, as well as being staffed and managed by those affected by homelessness.
The aim is to be a very practical progression route that has three components - creative development, self development and entrepreneurial development.
Candy Couture - Beatrice Obianwu, Harlesden (£1,000).
This project is going to offer training and experience to young homeless individuals.
Beatrice aims to empower these individuals by giving them skills in the beauty industry, which will allow them to either become self-employed or to look for mainstream placements.
Suitcase Media - James Connelly, Balham (£1,000).
The lifestyle of a homeless individual may be chaotic but their bird's-eye viewpoint on an area is insightful, original and out-of-the-ordinary.
Suitcase Media will start in Covent Garden as a tour application that tourists and visitors can download onto MP3s and mobile phones to see the area through the audio recording of a homeless resident.
Squeaky Chains - Nigel Hulme, New Cross (£1,000).
Squeaky chains will operate a mobile bike repair service. It will focus on servicing schools, youth clubs and community facilities such as markets and libraries.
Participants delivering the service will mostly come from a homeless or disadvantaged background and the aim will be for the enterprise to give them employment experience, to get them out and about and healthy, and through 'Bikeworks' and Squeaky Chains, to go on to expand the bike maintenance business across London.
Punch and Juicy - Davina Roberts, Harlesden (£2,000).
This innovative food and catering enterprise is building on the demand for juice stalls to provide a wide range of fruit juices, raw food and tasty meals.
In particular, Punch and Juicy will provide healthy foods to service user organisations to offer a healthy and fun alternative to people who need to recover from substance abuse and physically poor health.
From Pavement To Catwalk - Donald Waugh, London (£1,000).
Donald starred in Bugsy Malone as a child actor then had an illustrious career in film, television and theatre spanning over 25 years.
During this time however, he began on a downward spiral which eventually led to him losing his home and becoming a homeless alcoholic. Out of this comes his vision for 'From Pavement to Catwalk', which is to bring together professional fashion designers, jewellery designers and up and coming super models with homeless people, people sleeping rough and in hostels.
By using the help of professionals within the fashion industry 'From Pavement to Catwalk' will mentor people that are struggling on the fringes of society and hopefully culminate in a fashion gala at London Fashion Week 2010 - where all the participants will have a chance to display their creations and new found talents.
Projects to Tackle Homelessness Awarded Funding
The number of households accepted as being owed a main homelessness duty is down. The latest national statistics show that 10,650 households were accepted as homeless by local authorities between April to June 2009 - a 32% reduction compared to the same quarter last year.
The statistics also show the largest year on year decrease in the number of households in temporary accommodation since 2004. There are now 60,230 households in temporary accommodation which is 19% lower than this time last year, and down by around 40,000 since June 2004.
Separate figures released, based on the results of local authority street counts, show a fall in the number of people sleeping rough - with a total of 464 compared to 483 last year.
A toolkit to help local authorities and the voluntary sector better tackle rough sleeping is being published by the Government.
Bob Dylan Donating Album Proceeds to Homeless Charity
Bob Dylan will donate the proceeds from his new album to charity. He has pledged to give all of his international royalties from Christmas In The Heart, released on October 12, to the Crisis and the World Food Programme.
Songs on the festive album, his 47th, include Winter Wonderland, Little Drummer Boy and Here Comes Santa Claus.
Initial proceeds are expected to pay for 15,000 meals for homeless people in the UK over Christmas, as well as 500,000 meals for schoolchildren in the developing world.
Bob Dylan also recently decided to give all his US royalties from the album to the Feeding America charity.
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Pioneering Centre for Homeless Veterans to Open
A pioneering centre to help homeless veterans rebuild their lives will open this year. The first unit of its kind will be run in Newcastle by the housing charity Norcare with the support of the Royal British Legion, and more will follow in major cities and towns across the UK.
There have been concerns about the number of ex-services personnel who have fallen on hard times after returning to civilian life following active service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many are living rough, or are "sofa surfers", staying for short spells in the living rooms of friends.
A survey commissioned by the Ex-Service Action Group from York University academics found 6% of homeless people in London were ex-services.
The Norcare Veterans Centre in Newcastle will offer accommodation for five people, as well as a day centre where up to 35 visitors will be able to get help in training and employment, financial advice, family liaison and counselling, as well as specialist help for trauma.
The Royal British Legion is contributing £232,000 over a two-year period for the operational costs of running the centre. Norcare is investing £200,000 in the project and the Futurebuilders England Fund has loaned Norcare £219,000 plus an additional grant of £47,000.
Norcare will be linking with other organisations providing specialist care to veterans.
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Artists Support Shelter's House of Cards Campaign
Fifty-two of the UK's leading artists - including Damien Hirst, Marc Quinn, David Bailey and Vivienne Westwood - come together to create a unique collection of art inspired by Shelter's House of Cards campaign.
The housing charity invited the artists to design playing cards from the deck for an exhibition and fundraising auction in support of its work, as part of the campaign created by Leo Burnett London.
Original pieces of photography, installation, street art, graphic design, painting and textiles make up the diverse collection. Other artists and designers involved include Rankin, designing the King of Diamonds, Alexander McQueen creating the King of Spades, and Boo Ritson creating the 8 of Hearts.
The full deck was on display at the Haunch of Venison gallery in London for five days at the end of September. Members of the public were able to place silent bids on the artwork throughout the exhibition, with a selection of the pieces going into a live auction on the closing night.
One thousand limited edition oversized packs of cards featuring the artwork from the exhibition subsequently went on sale. All profits from the sale of these cards, which retail at £70, will go to Shelter.
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Homeless Charity Wins Best Use of Technology Award
The homeless charity Anchor House won the Best Use of Technology category at the Charity Times Awards 2009, hosted at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.
The Charity Times Awards, reaching its landmark tenth year this year, recognises high standards in the UK charity and not-for-profit sector.
Up against five other organisations, judges felt Anchor House had successfully used technology to significantly improve the welfare of its residents.
Anchor House, a centre for the homeless and workless, set up an ambitious plan to transform itself from a basic homeless hostel to a centre that helps residents develop their aspirations, confidence and self-esteem and move them towards leading independent self-fulfilling lives.
Technology was to be a major enabler to this. The scope of the IT overhaul included the implementation of VOIP telephony, internet access and media services in each room, a CCTV and access control system, training facilities and offices systems. A number of open source technologies were integrated to achieve this.
Anchor House chose systems integrator Foehn Ltd to deliver and support its technology.
The recent ten months have been reported as the calmest time at the centre. In 2008, 39 residents of Anchor House moved into full-time employment, compared to 5 in 2004.
Keith Fernett, Director of Anchor House commented:
"Residents now receive information and training through a rich set of interfaces. For the first time we can offer internet, email, training and TV for them to follow work opportunities and social stability."
