We have been scouring the UK for people who are doing innovative things to change the face of rough sleeping. We purposely focused on initiatives which have the potential to be replicated and scaled and that empower the public to address this national crisis.
Watch the clip posted on the World Economic Forum featuring our Buses 4 Homeless project.
LONDON – An inviting massage table, a snug chair, a sunlit field of grass – this is not a holiday resort but one of London’s famous double-decker buses, which this summer will house up to 40 homeless people.
Listen to Buses 4 Homeless’s founder Dan Atkins interviewed on BBC Radio London calling for sponsorship, support and help finding a fixed site for the buses to move into.
Buses4Homeless is a project created to shelter those sleeping on the streets of London. Four old buses have been converted into spaces for sleeping, eating, wellness and career building.
Decommissioned double-deckers are being “upcycled” into high quality shelters for homeless Londoners.
Social enterprise Buses 4 Homeless will offer rough sleepers sleep pods – with privacy screens and storage space – for three-month minimum stays in a newly converted 20-berth “sleeping bus”.
Three more Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)-contravening buses, donated by the Stagecoach Foundation, have been revamped to provide space for a “holistic” 24-hour support program, including a 32-seater “dining bus”, where clients can eat and learn to cook, and a “learning bus” where volunteers and corporate delegates will offer qualifications training and advice. Mental health support services will be offered.
The vehicles were converted by a formerly homeless designer with the paid help of six people living on the streets, all of whom are in work and living in permanent housing as a result. The buses have been revamped to provide space for a “holistic” 24-hour support program
The project will take in its first cohort this summer in Thornton Heath, Crystal Palace, and its founder is appealing to Londoners for help in finding a permanent space to park and operate.
Former teacher Dan Atkins, 39, came up with the idea last year after he found a homeless man sleeping underneath a coach he was working on for a small business project. He recruited the help of local carpenters and his former neighbour, and began contacting donors.
Since February, more than 60 volunteers have helped out and the team has raised over £55,000 (edited).The vehicles were converted by a formerly homeless designer with the paid help of six people living on the streets
He told the Standard: “I saw someone sleeping under a coach I was working on, ragged. So went out, bought a bus, and he slept in that with his three dogs, now he is in full time employment and has a house… I wanted to help more people and the ULEZ has made all of the older buses surplus to requirements.
“We are offering a three-month program so that homeless guests have that certainty. We are trying to create a more transitional program and on a much bigger level. We are not the first people to build [sleeping] buses for homeless people, but the first people to build a holistic program around them.
“These guys have skills, they have tools, they have a passion, they just need support and the opportunity to do something positive.
“In an ideal world we would like to have the four buses parked in a square… Until then we’ll drive around.”
Original article written here:
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/old-doubledecker-buses-upcycled-into-shelters-for-homeless-londoners-a4164836.html
Super happy and excited to share that we received a special delivery #Bubbles today!!! A HUGE thanks to all the team at Bathroom Takeaway UK for the incredibly generous donation to our Buses4Homeless family!
Another amazing day with our Buses4Homeless team and a host of lovely volunteers. This time we ventured into the community and did a #minimakeover at Evolve Housing & Support #PalmarHouse.