We are excited to announce that after a vote, our Bristol office have chosen Help Bristol Homeless as their charity of choice for 2020-2022.
Set up by Jasper Thompson, this charity has a mission to change the face of homelessness in Bristol. Unlike many homeless charities, their ethos is that housing must come first, and then everything else comes after. They believe that the priority must be to get people into safe, stable and comfortable accommodation. From there, they can help them to improve their own lives and reach their potential.
Help Bristol Homeless build temporary accommodation, to be used by residents while they access the help they need to secure a permanent home. By providing users with the security and dignity that everyone deserves, they are empowered to take an active role in improving their situation. Their mission is to get homeless people off the street first, and then give them a helping hand in the right direction.
"Homelessness as an issue is not getting any better and it's going to get progressively worse. We have a tried and tested format for helping homeless people, be they rough sleepers or sofa surfers, part of the hidden homeless in the form of shipping containers. When people think of these, they think of a metal box - our units are far from that. The biggest reaction we get to our flats when we have visitors to the project is 'this is better than my flat!'. They are very comfortable, they're secure, warm and are exactly what someone who is coming off the streets needs on their pathway to recovery. Once on board with us, we will help signpost individuals to other help such as employment, a move to a permanent address or recovery through other charities such as Bristol Day Project as MIND and other wellbeing centres." Comments Jasper.
Mewburn Ellis has made an initial donation of £15,000 and plans to work with the charity to fundraise on their behalf and provide volunteers to help with decorating and gardening. We also plan to fully fund a shipping container that costs £21,000 to buy and fit out if we can. We're some way down the line with the firm's donation of £15,000 and we hope to raise more funds through local office fundraising, with the aim of hitting the £21,000 target.
Shipping Containers
Help Bristol Homeless are creating a wonderful 'village' of container flats. We're excited to help with this and if we manage it, they have kindly agreed to let us paint it pink!
