Empowerment & Innovation Fund
The Empowerment and Innovation Fund was set up by OSW, using funding from the European Social Fund under the Equal Community Initiative Programme, to provide support to organisations to set up innovative projects led, shaped or influenced by homeless people, that will improve their employability. Projects created through the Empowerment and Innovation Fund had to fit the criteria of strengthening the sustainability of self-employment, volunteering or social enterprise, and had to present a new methodology or way of working, which was neither a replica or a continuation of an existing project.
As part of OSW's Client Participation agenda the Fund represents a unique programme, because of its requirement that homeless individuals or groups either led the project proposals for funding or worked in partnership with a homelessness organisation. Most funding streams are open only to delivery agencies to access, whereas the Empowerment and Innovation Fund places homeless individuals at the heart of creating the services they would like to see available for homeless people.
In addition to the positive outcome of the actual services which have been set up, the fund has also enhanced the skills and knowledge of those people who participated in applying for funding. Participants gained skills and experience involved in developing a project, and knowledge of how the funding process works and what monitoring requirements are attached to funding programmes. As part of the funding, OSW are providing advice and support to the individual projects through the School for Social Entrepreneurs.
Eight projects in total were selected for funding, of which four are led by homeless groups. All the projects are to receive funding of up to £20,000, to be spent by the end of June 2007. The projects are listed below:
Brent Homeless User Group (Bhug)
Project: Interpreting Communities
Participants of Bhug will receive accredited training to become community
interpreters to utilise their diverse range of language skills. An interpreting
agency will then be established to provide interpreting solutions for the
community, particularly in housing/homeless settings.
Broadway
Project: The Media Kitchen
Participants receive peer education training and then deliver their own cookery
workshops to other homeless individuals. These cookery workshops will then
be filmed and a DVD produced for dissemination across Broadway's hostels and
supported housing projects.
Crafty Folk
Project: Crafty Coaching
Crafty Folk is a group of Homeless Artists led by its members to provide a
means of selling artworks and crafts made by members in insecure housing,
or currently homeless. The coaching project aims to provide training and infrastructure
for Crafty Folk, so that it is in a position to operate as a successful social
enterprise. This will include project-based peer training (bought from and
facilitated by Crisis Learning Zone), storage/studio space and transportation.
Outside In Group at St Mungo's
Project: Peer Facilitator training
Led by homeless individuals at St Mungo's the group will receive accredited
facilitation training. This will enable them to run their own peer and focus
groups within St Mungo's and develop transferable peer working skills towards
employment in organisations such as social housing, mental health and drug
intervention agencies, which all use peer facilitation widely.
Providence Row Charity
Project: Beautician Training
This project will provide beautician training targeted at homeless female individuals,
particularly those involved in or wishing to exit prostitution. The project
will increase employment, volunteering and educational opportunities in the
area of health and beauty. Tower Hamlets College will provide a trainer to
deliver the beautician training and careers advice.
Streets Alive
Project: On Track
The project is two short practical courses, which take place within a theatre
space or a drama school. On Track will respond to the desire of the young
people at Streets Alive to find out more about technical theatre professions
such as: lighting and sound technicians; sound production/design; lighting
design; set design and carpentry and prop making.
Streetshine
Project: Employment progression programme
The project is designed to add career progression and enhance employment opportunities
to the homeless individuals currently employed by Streetshine. The training
will also help to increase individuals' confidence to empower them to conduct
training of new staff, take responsibility for their own business regions,
whilst also being involved with Streetshine's ongoing business development.
Thames Reach Bondway
Project: Cabbages and Kings
This project capitalises on the success of an existing project where homeless
individuals work on an organic farm in East Sussex. The organic market stall
would take the project a step further in the production process, transporting
it back to London and selling it. The project will provide experience to service
users and equip them with skills that will increase their employability through
cash handling, customer service, stock control, manual handling and confidence
building.