Spinningfields developer Allied London, the first business to sign up to Manchester’s Homelessness Charter in May, has donated a sum of £10,000 to the Charter, as agreed as one of its campaign pledges.
The Homelessness Charter, developed by groups working alongside people affected by homelessness, with their voices at its core, is the city’s new approach to tackling homelessness.
Led by local charity Mustard Tree, the charter has brought together city leaders, faith groups, businesses, the voluntary sector, street charities, health groups, Greater Manchester Police, CityCo and Manchester City Council in a united front to tackle the problem of homelessness in the city. It outlines the principles that establish how people experiencing homelessness should be treated and how the city intends to deal with the problem. It calls for action from those who agree to adopt the charter values to make a pledge to demonstrate their support.
As developer of Spinningfields, St. John’s on the old Granada Studios site and London Road Fire Station, Allied London has played an integral role in the changing landscape of Manchester city centre over the last decade and was the first business to pledge support for the Homelessness Charter, forging the path for the corporate community to get involved as the initiative gathers momentum.
“This donation means the right resources can be accessed across the city for those experiencing homelessness with the right support attached”
Alongside a combined annual donation from Michael Ingall and Allied London of £10,000 to the Big Change and providing a venue free of charge for a fundraising event at Old Granada Studios, the developer has pledged to work with its construction partners and suppliers to offer work experience to the homeless to provide them with a set of skills to help get them back into employment, as well as driving awareness of the Charter with its tenants and stakeholders at Spinningfields.
Allied London has also pledged to work with Manchester City Council and the Big Change partners to look at making provisions to support the homeless through a variety of means.
The money donated, which to date has doubled the funds available to Big Change, will be used in a number of ways. So far the Big Change has provided funding for transport, furniture and clothing, which have had a real impact on those in need of help.
Gabriel Erinle, Estates Director at Spinningfields, said; “When we set out our pledges earlier this year, we chose pledges that showed our commitment to doing everything we can to help support the Big Change, which has started out on the long road to relieve the issues causing and caused by homelessness.
“This donation is very much the start of our partnership and we intend to work closely with those involved in the Homelessness Charter to ensure help is given in all areas physical and psychological. In particular, we will be encouraging the corporate sector to follow our lead and will hopefully be in a position to announce a number of events and initiatives in the near future.”
Eleanor Watts, Big Change Action Group Chair said; “This donation means the right resources can be accessed across the city for those experiencing homelessness with the right support attached. With this donation we have already helped a person living in a squat into work as well as an individual who had a long history of sleeping rough leave hospital and set up a new home. The fund has helped with everything from bus tickets to tenancies. I am so glad that Allied London is leading the business community with this donation and commitment to end homelessness in Manchester.”
