Grant Winners January 2008

This group wants to address the food problems experienced by homeless people who have a very limited budget and no access to fridges or freezers.  They are opening their own small shop which will sell individualised portions of healthy food at low prices, so that people don’t have to worry about storage but can buy one meal at a time cheaply.  Their grant will pay for a large freezer; larder cupboard; scales, bags and labels for portioning food; and initial stocks of food.

Share Hope Self Help Group is a women’s group concerned about a lack of support for HIV positive African refugees and asylum seekers, who may face cultural barriers to seeking help or avoid finding out more about their condition because of the stigma attached in their community.  They plan to share their experiences with others and invite local GPs, sexual health workers and mainstream women’s organisations to speak with members.  Their grant will allow them to rent meeting space in a community hall, provide snacks, pay travel expenses and print promotional flyers.

Jaiyeola is organising football training sessions for homeless people in Clapton Pond Park, using an FA-qualified coach with personal experience of homelessness.  Their grant will buy reflector jackets, training and match balls, a first aid bag, refreshments for 24 weekly sessions and will pay for a storage locker for the equipment.

John is a traveller with a background in television, and plans to start a video archive about nomadic cultures in Britain.  He has already secured an interview with Lord Avebury, who campaigned for the Caravan Sites Act 1968 which made it a duty for all local authorities to provide sites for travellers.  John’s grant will be used for a tripod; supplies of DVDs, mini DV tapes and sleeves so that he can make copies of his work; his travel; and admin costs such as printing, phone, post and stationery.

The Spike is a squat that has been running for the last 9 years and has now been granted a peppercorn lease.  It has a community garden to provide a shared community space where people can grow and eat their own food.  Their grant will pay for 6 days of permaculture training with a specialist, allowing the group and other members of the local and squatting community to learn how to grow food in a sustainable ecological way.

This homeless-led project aims to promote healthy living by selling soups and fruit smoothies in the Brent area.  The grant will pay for 2 smoothie makers, a citrus press, a soup kettle, takeaway cups and lids in various sizes, carry out trays, straws, an apron, public liability insurance and advertising.

This group teach rural craft skills and yurt building, providing people with the practical skills to build and furnish a home for themselves at low cost and in a matter of weeks.  Their grant will buy enough fire and weather proof canvas for participants in a training course to construct a 16-foot yurt.