Local people helped to raise over £30,000 for YMCA Exeter at a local fundraising on Saturday 10th March that saw them sleep out for the night in Barnfield Crescent.
More than 40 people took part in the annual Sleep Easy event, helping to raise money but also awareness of the work of the local youth charity. Participants paid an entry fee of £10 and were sleeping on DIY cardboard beds.
It was all part of a national YMCA Sleep Easy Week that saw YMCAs across the country come together over seven days to promote their work with young people.
Amongst those ‘sleeping rough’ in Exeter to raise money for young homeless people in the city on Saturday night was none other than young entrepreneur Chris Rundle of city-based GK Signs.
Aged 23 and the recent winner of the Western Morning News Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Chris wanted to do his bit for young people not as fortunate as he is. He set a modest target of £500 but more than smashed that with his fund currently running at nearly £1,400 which will benefit the YMCA, Exeter.
Describing his 12 hour ordeal, Chris (pictured above) said it was much tougher even...
A pilot scheme to help Devon’s homeless gain the skills, qualifications and confidence needed to get their lives back on track and pursue a career in hair and barbering, has been launched.
The scheme gives new hope to homeless and vulnerably housed adults who want to learn a trade so they can support themselves and their loved ones.
Now Devon County Council’s adult education service Learn Devon, Hair@theAcademy, a specialist training salon supporting vulnerable people, Exeter salon The Hair Boutique and homeless shelter Gabriel House have joined forces to give the homeless...
A woman who spent the lead-up to last Christmas sleeping in a shop front in Exeter is now starting to turn her life around and is now living in a self-contained flat. Tia Bamford (31), came to the attention of thousands of shoppers in December 2016, sharing a tent and a Christmas tree with a friend in front of the old BHS store in the High Street. Tia was able to spend last Christmas in emergency accommodation thanks to Exeter City Council’s Housing Solutions service, who have spent the last year supporting the former rough sleeper. “Tia is not out of the woods yet but over the last 12...
Extra bed spaces have been made available for rough sleepers in Exeter over the winter period, the City Council has announced. The 15 extra emergency beds will be provided at Gabriel House in the city centre as part the City Council’s response to providing emergency accommodation and bringing rough sleepers inside during the harshest winter weather. Bournemouth Churches Housing Association (BCHA), who run Gabriel House, will be running the service from 1 December through to the end of March. This year the initiative has been extended by an extra month. Cllr Emma Morse, Lead Councillor for...
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched a campaign with property industry charity LandAid* to raise over £2 million in the biggest ever fundraising campaign for the charity. The funds will contribute to ending youth homelessness across the South West and will provide secure and affordable bed spaces in the region.
As part of RICS’ 150th anniversary in 2018, the campaign - known as Pledge150 - will see the leading industry body partnering with LandAid to raise £2.25 million for the provision of 150 bed spaces across all 12 UK regions by December 2018, for...
Exeter and Teignbridge councils are stepping up their homelessness support with a new campaign aimed at highlighting all the good work that goes on in the area and raising awareness of the issue.
The two councils have teamed up to launch Homelessness Awareness Week which runs from 9 to 13 October. The social media campaign is focused around a theme of help.
Over five days, both councils will be highlighting what help there is for people, how they can go about getting support, how people who aren’t homeless can help and the success stories of those who have turned their...
The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) is calling on construction firms in the South West to help tackle the skills shortage in the industry by helping some of their community’s most vulnerable people get back into work.
It has been predicted that the UK construction industry will create around 190,000 new jobs by the end of 2018 but there is a growing fear that there will not be the talent to fill them.* In fact, recent RICS research revealed that the UK construction industry could lose almost 200,000 EU workers post-Brexit, should Britain lose access to the single...
A new eye clinic for homeless people has opened in Exeter.
The clinic, which is led by a team of volunteers, is located at Clock Tower Surgery in Wat Tyler House which brings together some 25 services for homeless and vulnerable people.
Set up by the charity, Vision Care for Homeless People, it has been made possible by support from the Local Optical Committee, a team of volunteer optometrists, donations from Specsavers and Bills Opticians which will provide the glazing of spectacles. It joins a small group of similar clinics in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Brighton...
The South West’s land, property and construction sectors must collaborate better to help end rising homelessness and deliver more affordable homes, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The professional body is asking those who work in the industry to pledge their support for its ‘A Home For Cathy’ campaign, which aims to deliver solutions to alleviate the country’s affordable housing crisis.
RICS – which sets professional standards in the land, property and construction sectors – launched its ‘Home for Cathy’ campaign at the end of last year to coincide...
