Landlords fund-raising for the homeless

Thanks, all. Keep the ideas coming. I was particularly interested in the 1% of profit idea. Another suggestion I have had is £10 a month. What do people think?

We also have to hear all suggestions of whom we would provide housing for, if we go down the route of service provision – rather than raising money and passing it to existing charities which can prove that they will house people with the money.

Reply to the comment left by Robert Mellors at 29/11/2017 – 13:50
What about the support workers training volunteers to help support clients. Mentoring.

Reply to the comment left by loretta wight at 29/11/2017 – 21:16Hi Loretta
The paid Support Workers could train (help to train) volunteers, but finding suitable volunteers is not easy. If Property118 were to set up a scheme similar to mine, then they may be able to set up a registered charity and use their funds to pay for staff to train and mentor a team of volunteers, if they have sufficient access to a pool of potential volunteers. However, it can be a difficult client group to work with, and there may be a shortage of volunteers willing and/or able to carry out this type of role to an acceptable standard. But definitely a good suggestion and one that Property118 may wish to explore further if they proceed with this.

A good idea, could do with a a little bit of flesh on the bones, but count me in. –
I’ll offer ( Free ) help to Homeless tenants in proving their reference credibility in selection for Housing.

i would prefer that we identify an area, check the existing provision and identify where we can best help or, possibly, decide that area is not for us and look for another. I do not want to be duplicating the efforts of other charities unnecessarily and it may be best in the short term to give money to existing charities who we find are doing good work rather than starting from scratch.
In the meantime I think we need to set up a charity, with sufficient safeguards, to start collecting money and give us a chance of publicity before xmas is over and homelessness drops out of view.

Robert, is it possible to equate, roughly, money donated with homeless numbers now homed? Eg if £10,000 was donated for paying for support work under your model would that mean 10 people taken off the streets for a year?

Why not identify any clients that show “promise” and train them to become support workers of the future. You could also train / use other clients for maintenance and gardening etc if they are struggling to find work ?

Reply to the comment left by Steven Tennant at 30/11/2017 – 07:55There are certainly good projects going on hat help with Homelessness. One of the factors of course being economics and job prospects.
For example, there’s a charitable ( to some extent ) organisation in North London that teaches the unemployed various carpentry, decorating and associated skills that helps them find work. I’ve actually referred them onto Landlords and I know a number have used them satisfactory – ” Goldfinger factory. ”
If any Landlords have properties in the Greater London area that might want to consider this organisation ( I’ve been to their workshop and seen them use reclaimed materials to manufacture furniture etc ) then it would be helpful to those seeking to improve conditions in that sector. –
[ Neil, sorry for the ‘advertisement’ but I thought it relevant to the conversation, charitable and supporting a good cause. ]
Chris

This is a terrific idea and something I’ve been scratching around with for a while. I’m really keen to be involved in this opportunity. Who should I contact to discuss this further?

Reply to the comment left by Lenny Felix at 30/11/2017 – 09:05
It is just an idea at this stage Lenny. There are far more questions than answers and nothing has been decided. This discussion may or may not lead to something positive, so let’s all stay engaged on this thread and debate ideas.

I think it is extremely unrealistic to expect any fundraising to occur before Xmas because that would entail all of the following and a lot more …. in no particular order; registering a charity, opening bank accountants, appointing trustees, registering the charity for gift aid, agreeing a constitution and a mission and vision statement and objectives +++++