A Hand Up, Not a Hand Out – Spotlight on Big Issue Birmingham and West Midlands

There cannot be many people in the UK who have never seen or heard of the Big Issue. Maybe you have seen one of the thousands of vendors selling the latest issue on high streets up and down the UK; maybe you have purchased one, or have a subscription.  Founded in 1991, the Big Issue […]

Become a Home-2-Home Host with St Basils

Transform Lives:  Become a Home-2-Home Host with St Basils St Basils, a leading charity dedicated to reducing youth homelessness, is calling on individuals with a spare room and a caring heart to join our Home-2-Home Supported Lodgings scheme. This transformative program places young people aged 16-18 (occasionally older) who have experienced family breakdowns into the […]

Supporting Solihull’s Homeless: How You Can Help

Imagine being stuck on someone’s sofa for ages, or maybe bouncing from friend to friend’s house, never having a proper place to call your own. That’s what homelessness can be like, not just sleeping rough on the streets. Since the 1990s, SCAH (Solihull Churches Action on Homelessness) has been a total lifesaver for people in […]

Stop Loan Sharks Week 2024

Have you ever heard of loan sharks or illegal money lending?  Being a victim of illegal money lending, such as borrowing from loan sharks, can put you at risk of homelessness.  When people struggle to repay the high interest rates and fees charged by loan sharks, they may find themselves trapped in a cycle of […]

Exercise your right to vote in the West Midlands.

On 2 May 2024, people across the West Midlands are being invited to vote in the polls to elect A Mayor for the West Midlands Combined Authority A Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands  Councillors within local authority areas of, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.  (In Selly Oak and Bournbrook in […]

Give Help Campaign launches in the West Midlands

The Street Support Give Help Campaign launches in the West Midlands Did you know today is #GivingTuesday ? It seems a perfect day to launch our Street Support West Midlands #GiveHelp campaign.  Organisations across the region have listed what they need, be it items, time, or funding to help prevent people from becoming homeless, or […]

Training offer: Understanding loss and grief in the homeless sector

  In September 2023 Birmingham Hospice and Crisis Skylight Birmingham partnered to pilot a new training programme “Understanding loss and grief in the homeless sector”.   The three-hour bereavement awareness training programme was co-designed with agencies who support those experiencing homelessness and is currently being run FREE of charge across Birmingham and Solihull.  Feedback from the […]

Tackling homelessness – it’s everybody’s business

The WMCA Homelessness Task Force have shared their thoughts about why homelessness is everybody’s business. Read to find out how you can ‘Find Help’ and ‘Give Help’ To a lesser or greater extent, the cost of living crisis is affecting most of us on a daily basis with the cost of essentials like food, rent, […]

WMCA Rough Sleeping Initiative Regional Training Programme 2023-24

The West Midlands Combined Authority Rough Sleeping Initiative seeks to add value and complementary outcomes to the work of our Local Authority and wider partners. To build upon the good work established in recent years, we are delighted to share details about our new regional training programme. This exciting training offer is not open to […]

Street Support Launches in West Midlands

Following huge successes in other cities across the country, Street Support West Midlands has now been launched and is already rapidly becoming the key live portal for accurate up‐to‐date information for people experiencing homelessness and for support workers working to help meet people’s needs. Street Support West Midlands is continually updated by the city’s key […]