July 2, 2020

Socialboxbiz

Social enterprise refits old laptops to help homeless people connect.

Socialbox.biz was founded by Peter Paduh, a former child refugee from the Balkans who built his IT career on a donated laptop. Now he helps others like him do the same.

The Covid-19 pandemic has emphasised the digital divide between Britain’s haves and have-nots – and that’s why a social enterprise has been working hard to keep the country’s most vulnerable people connected.

SocialBox.Biz launched in 2014 to take old donated laptops from businesses and repurpose them with open-source software before passing them on to homeless people and asylum seekers.

It’s vital work that goes a long way to tackling digital poverty – with 1.9 million households living with no access to the internet in the UK, according to the Good Things Foundation – while also boosting sustainability by making the most of old tech destined for the scrap heap.

July 1, 2020

Paws and Pause

Social enterprise uses paw power to support mental health.

Caring for dogs is providing a route back into the workplace for vulnerable people in South London.

Paws and Pause is London’s only socially responsible dog daycare centre, providing work experience for people who are recovering from mental health difficulties. It offers a therapeutic environment where they can gain practical skills and build their confidence so that they are ready to start work again.

Paws and Pause was inspired by Grace Beards and Jodie Larsen – project workers turned entrepreneurs. They met when they worked together at St Mungo’s, the homelessness charity, on a project to support people recovering from addiction.

They were surprised by the lack of opportunities to provide placements for people in their care to work with animals.

June 18, 2020

Prisoner’s Education Trust

Inmates share inspirational prison education stories in powerful new book.

Featuring artwork, personal testimonies and poetry, the release celebrates HMP Pentonville’s 20-year partnership with the Prisoner’s Education Trust.

The power of education to transform lives is the focus of a new book created by prisoners at HMP Pentonville, featuring their stories, artwork and poetry.

Inmates at the north London men’s prison played a central role in the creation of the book, released to mark the 20-year anniversary of Pentonville’s partnership wth the Prisoner’s Education Trust (PET).

The charity provides courses to people in prison across England and Wales, from GCSEs and vocational courses through to the start of university degrees. The aim is to help transform prisoners lives through education.

June 16, 2020

Fat Macy’s

Hackney social enterprise makes father’s day hamper to help combat homelessness.

A Hackney-based social enterprise is offering Londoners a chance to celebrate father’s day and fight homelessness with a food hamper.

Fat Macy’s is a food and catering social enterprise on a mission to break the cycle of homelessness by working with young Londoners living in temporary accommodation.

Founder Meg Doherty told the Gazette: ““Fat Macy’s uses food to create a much needed pathway from hostel to home. Our model is unique because we combine essential vocational training, support and financial backing within a framework that empowers young people to feel really proud of their achievements.

“This prepares them to take the route out of homelessness onto a more stable life in London.”

May 31, 2020

Ian Duff

Cook up incredible lockdown lunches with Big Issue vendor Ian Duff.

The former chef has been sharing lots of his favourite recipes on his Twitter account while off his Bath pitch. Here he explains how he caught the cooking bug, shares a recipe with Big Issue readers and offers some handy tips to help you make the most of your morsels.

I loved cooking from an early age. I was cooking my first meal when I was eight. It was spaghetti bolognese and I don’t think I used any stock or anything like that. It was pretty bland. But you learn!

May 1, 2020

Stand4 Health Heroes

Social enterprise adapts socks made for rough sleepers to help NHS.

Stand4 Socks has produced their Stand4 Health Heroes sock to give health workers an antibacterial pair as well as homeless people.

A social enterprise that donates a pair of socks to homeless people for every one sold have now produced a new design to help keep health workers well-stocked.

Stand4Socks, who have been working with The Big Issue Shop for many years, have started taking pre-orders for their Stand4 Health Heroes socks while their ethical Sedex-assured factories are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new design features an ensemble of clapping hands and the words ‘Clap for our Heroes’ to mark the weekly tradition that sees the nation come together every Thursday to honour frontline health workers.

April 3, 2020

Big Issue retail

Big Issue to be stocked in major retailers to support vendors who are unable to sell on streets.

From April 2nd, for the first time, The Big Issue, the magazine sold by some of the most vulnerable people to lift themselves out of poverty, will be sold by major retailers.

Sainsbury’s and McColl’s will both be adding the magazine to their shelves to maximise sales in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

It will be available to customers both online and in selected stores and from McColl’s, Martin’s and RS McColl in store as a temporary measure, with the magazine remaining on sale until Big Issue vendors are able to return to work.

March 13, 2020

Off The Streets FC

Shrewsbury Town use EFL Day of Action to launch new homeless initiative.

Off The Streets FC will give homeless people in Shropshire a chance to play football, access mental health services, and eventually, get back to work.

With the optics of football funneled through the lavish, moneyed Premier League, it’s easy to forget that there are 71 clubs in total in the English Football League, of all different sizes across England and Wales. This week, the EFL Day of Action highlighted the impact these clubs are having in their community.

Shrewsbury Town used the day to launch their Off The Streets FC programme in partnership with local homeless day centre The Shrewsbury Ark. The initiative will provide space for those supported by the Ark to come and play football, in a bid to highlight the growing problem of homelessness across Shropshire.

March 6, 2020

Here For Life

The genre-defying film destroying clichés about homelessness.

New film Here For Life encourages us to reject labels and to see beyond false labels. Many of its actors draw on their own experience of homelessness.

When have you been greedy? When were you denied hope? When were you allowed to dream?

These kinds of questions acted as the genesis for Here For Life, a film co-directed by Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Adrian Jackson, the founder of Cardboard Citizens, the theatre group for people who have experienced homelessness.

The film follows 10 wayward Londoners as they tell stories and perform scenes that feel real but may be improvised. There is song, poetry, structured chaos. The film is impossible to define, as are its subjects.

February 21, 2020

Fat Macy’s

Are you being served?

The catering social enterprise which helps the homeless get a place to live.

What people need to escape homelessness is usually tangible: money. But buffeted between hostel and job centre, saving cash is near impossible. That’s why Meg Doherty launched Fat Macy’s, a London catering social enterprise with a difference. As well as giving homeless people the experience they need to get back on their feet in the job market, it centres on a housing deposit grant scheme that removes the biggest barrier for people locked out of getting a home of their own.

After getting a degree in French and English literature in Edinburgh, Doherty took on social innovation and entrepreneurship course Year Here. At the same time, she started working in a North London hostel and was immediately surprised by the reality of homelessness for so many.

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Tag: homelessness