Homeless Link announces winners of inspirational community awards in Dragons Den style competition

Published by Homeless Link for Homeless Link in Housing and also in Communities

Homeless residents from The Salvation Army’s The Sandwich People win the Michael Whippman Award for social enterprise in the local community

The Sandwich People team from The Salvation Army’s Lifehouse*, Booth House, for homeless men and women in Swindon has won the 2010 Michael Whippman Award. 

The Michael Whippman Award, run by Homeless Link, focuses on the contributions of people who are homeless.  It was set up to challenge stereotypes about who is homeless and to demonstrate what is possible if individuals are given the right opportunity.  This year the focus was on social enterprise operated by homeless people in their local community.  Four shortlisted applicants each had 5 minutes to pitch their business to a panel in a Dragon’s Den style competition in front of 200 conference delegates at Homeless Link’s annual conference in Reading this week.   

Around 20 homeless residents are involved in making and delivering sandwiches on foot to local companies on a daily basis.  Working for The Sandwich People gives individuals an opportunity to get back into a regular routine, undertake training, gain confidence and develop work skills, for example sales and marketing skills, customer service and food hygiene.  The business works hard to minimise its environmental impact and uses salads from its own allotment in season.   

Gary Stott, Managing Director of CREATE in Leeds who sponsored this year’s awards and was also one of the ‘Dragons’ said, “CREATE was delighted to sponsor the Michael Whippman award. We truly believe that Social Enterprise has the potential for transformation; transformation of homeless services, of the way the corporate world does business and, most importantly, transformation for the lives of homeless people. All the entries were visionary and ambitious businesses delivering value for people, profit and the planet. The Sandwich People balance great business ideas with great passion for people and we are delighted for their success.”

Jenny Edwards, Chief Executive of Homeless Link and one of the ‘Dragons,’ said, “I am regularly astonished by the talent that we uncover through our work.  The short listed applicants were all excellent and all the social enterprises demonstrated real commercial sustainability.”

Liz Osborne, Business Project Coordinator said “we are thrilled to have won the award. It is a fantastic achievement and recognises the skills and hard work of the whole team who despite facing the difficult issues around homelessness have proved they can operate a successful social enterprise and make a difference in their community”

Dan one of the Sandwich People team said “I had won as soon as I conquered my fears and went into the dragons den. When I heard we had won the award I was on cloud nine, I’ve never won anything in my life before.”

The winning team has decided to invest the prize money in its most important asset ,the team members and is planning a motivational day out to celebrate!

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Press enquiries: 

Adrian Prior-Sankey, Regional Press Officer The Salvation Army, tel: 07717 862 442

email adrian.prior-sankey@salvationarmy.org.uk

Ann Stewart, Senior Press Officer The Salvation Army, tel: 020 7367 4702 / 07801 198 439 email ann.c.stewart@salvationarmy.org.uk

Cathy Le Feuvre, Head of Media, tel: 020 7367 4516/07717 448 232 email: cathy.lefeuvre@salvationarmy.org.uk

The Salvation Army is a worldwide Christian church and registered charity, working in 121countries, and is one of the largest and most diverse providers of social welfare in the world. The Salvation Army Registered Charity Nos 214779, 215174, in Scotland SC009359, SC037691, and in Ireland CHY6399 For more information visit the website www.salvationarmy.org.uk
 

The Salvation Army is one of the largest providers of support and accommodation in homelessness services where 3,500 people stay every night. This includes 83 Lifehouses* in the UK and Ireland, which offer accommodation to men, women and families. *A Lifehouse is a place of change, built on purpose and relationship and with a large element of fun. Service users are helped to regain their confidence, develop skills, and re-engage with mainstream society to enable them to ultimately move into a place of their own or supported housing project.
 

Further details about The Sandwich People including profiles of the participants, images and customer feedback can be found on line at: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/sandwichpeople and enquiries about the delivery service can be made by telephoning 01793 401 830.

About the Michael Whippman Award

The Michael Whippman Award is an award scheme with a difference, it focuses on the contributions of homeless people themselves – aiming to challenge stereotypes about homeless people and to show staff and other homeless people that anything is possible.

When Homeless Link launched the Award they aimed to uncover inspiring examples of how service users were helping change and improve homelessness services.

The runner up of the 2010 Michael Whippman Award

 Shekinah Trading from Plymouth

The team provides multi-disciplined skilled construction labour on a sub-contract basis for building projects in Plymouth and other parts of Devon and Cornwall.  It undertakes minor maintenance work on void properties e.g. re-decorating for local authorities and housing associations alongside a broad range of cleaning services prior to reoccupation. 

About Michael Whippman

Michael Whippman CBE PhD joined the board of Homeless Network In 1998 and in the following year became the Chairman, a post he held until his death in 2001. He was passionately interested in the causes of homelessness amongst single people and how that cycle might be broken.

The Directors of Homeless Network, now Homeless Link, endowed a small fund so that the Michael Whippman Prize can be awarded to enable and encourage innovative thinking or work in the area of homelessness.   The first winners of this prize in 2006 were the residents of Anchor House in east London, with Shaidy Characters from Derwentside among the runners up.

About Homeless Link

Homeless Link is the national membership organisation for frontline homelessness agencies in England.  Our mission is to be a catalyst that will help to bring an end to homelessness.  Our two goals are to:

• raise standards in the services that support homeless people and tackle homelessness
• influence the development of policy, strategy and investment at all levels of government. 

Homeless Link’s member organisations provide services through:  hostel, day centres, outreach and resettlement agencies, housing advice centres, youth projects, health projects, welfare rights groups, regional and sub-regional homelessness networks, refuges, drug and alcohol services and church groups. 

For more information, contact Gill Perkins on 020 7840 4425 or 07881 921476.

www.homeless.org.uk

www.endhomelessness.org.uk