Partner Article

Leaders investigate the impact of homelessness

Some of the North East’s best-known business leaders are gathering today to investigate the challenges faced by homeless people in Newcastle, as part of a national initiative led by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

The ‘Seeing is Believing’ visit, organised by Business in the Community (BITC), will be led by Paul Walker, the Prince’s Ambassador for the North East and chief executive of The Sage Group plc.

The band of business leaders will tour a number of projects run by regional charity The Cyrenians in and around the city centre which tackle homelessness and related issues.

The group will start out at The Cyrenians’ day centre, Ron Eager House, on Westgate Road, at which drop-in support services such as food, warmth, clothing and washing facilities are provided.

They will then move on to meet trainees at the charity’s Brighter Futures Construction Skills Training Centre, which provides introductory construction skills suited to future employment within the sector, before ending the day at Residential Academy and Centre of Excellence, Virginia House, a location which offer specialist ‘move on’ accommodation, as well as a ‘state of the art’ recording and radio suite, a fully equipped gym, IT facilities and an holistic therapy room.

Karen Wilkinson-Bell, regional director of business in the community, said: “In the 20 years since it began, The Prince’s Seeing is Believing programme has taken over 7,000 business leaders on more than 800 visits across the UK, showing them the work of over 1,500 community organisations and schools, and helping to develop solutions to tackle issues of education, crime, employability and social exclusion.

“This particular visit is focusing on the very important issue of homelessness, something which affects many thousands of people here in the North East.”

“Businesses can play a pivotal role in addressing homelessness by helping homeless people gain and sustain meaningful employment - by providing some of our key business leaders with practical insights into the issue, our aim is to offer a starting point for future collaborative action.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .