CAN you help transform the lives of rough sleepers?
That’s the big question from Liverpool City Council to the city’s business community as it launches a new initiative aimed at giving rough sleepers the chance of a new start and a better life.
As part of its Always Room Inside campaign, the city council is hosting a Rough Sleeping and Business Summit with the aim of bringing private sector resources to bear on a very public problem.
The summit will help to enlist the support of the business community to help create more opportunities for homeless people and rough sleepers.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, explained: “Homeless and rough sleeping is everyone’s problem, not just that of the city council. We have a fantastic network of charitable and voluntary groups who are providing direct help and supporting our campaign. Now we want to bring on board more partners from the business community who can also help us address the issues.”
“Many of the city’s business may be directly affected, particularly if they have had a rough sleeper outside their premises, so let’s see what we can all do to resolve some of the problems.”
The summit will explore the potential for the business community to assist the city in helping people find routes out of rough sleeping, for example by offering training, work experience and even employment opportunities.
Last year the council’s proactively worked to prevent more than 7,000 in Liverpool becoming homeless. In January alone, the council working in partnership with The Whitechapel Centre
Mayor Anderson said: “People can find themselves on the streets for a variety of reasons and often through no fault of their own.”
“We are working hard to address the immediate problem of rough sleeping and we getting people off our streets and into safety. We now need to look at longer term solutions that give people options and opportunities that will prevent them from returning to the streets.”
He added: “Our city has a tradition of philanthropy and we know that many members of our business community have a strong sense of social responsibility. We look forward to welcoming them all to our summit to explore how we can work together.”
The Rough Sleeping and Business Summit will take place at The Cunard Building, on Monday May 14 between 8.30am and 10.30am.
To attend, you can register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/breakfast-summit-business-and-homelessness-tickets-44404544187
