The Birmingham office of national law firm Mills & Reeve is hosting an in-person event to bring together local businesses and the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce on Tuesday 27th June at its office on Colmore Row – with key speaker Mayor of West Midlands, Andy Street.
Since 2017 the Taskforce has been working on a wide range of issues and initiatives ranging from Housing First to research work on children and families in temporary accommodation.
Last year around 13,000 residents across the region approached their local council for help to prevent them from becoming homeless. With the cost of living crisis continuing to affect people across the West Midlands, the event will offer the opportunity for businesses to engage with the Taskforce and learn about the “Designing Out Homelessness”: Practical Steps for Business toolkit which was co-produced with Business in the Community.
Speakers at the event include:
Chair:
- Jessica Wilkes-Ball, Sustainability Manager, Mills & Reeve
Speakers:
- Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands
- Jean Templeton, Chair of the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce and CEO of St Basils
The event will focus on the critical role of businesses in helping to tackle homelessness and how businesses can use the toolkit to take positive actions to prevent homelessness within the region’s workforce, give practical help to employees when issues arise, and create pathways to employment for people who have experienced homelessness.
The event will take place between 8:30am – 10am including a Q&A and the opportunity to network.
Jessica Wilkes-Ball, Sustainability Manager at Mills & Reeve said:
“Mills & Reeve are proud to be the business representative on the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce. Over the past six years since the Taskforce’s inception, there has been great collaboration and work, including the development of a toolkit for businesses to help address the ongoing issue in the region alongside businesses in the community.
“We at Mills & Reeve are delighted to be hosting this event for local businesses and hope that it will result in our business community picking up and implementing the toolkit – it is to be an insightful event with plenty of opportunities for collaboration to follow.”
Jean Templeton, Chair of the WMCA Homelessness Taskforce and CEO of St Basils said:
“Preventing and tackling homelessness is an issue for all of us. Businesses have a key role to play as employers, service providers and community partners. The toolkit provides a resource which assists businesses to identify what they are already doing and how they can extend their impact ”
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:
“I’ve seen firsthand – from my time at John Lewis and in my role as Mayor – the remarkable role that business can play in addressing social challenges.
“That’s why I welcome this event providing businesses right across our region with an opportunity to attend, learn more about the toolkit and get more involved in what is an important local issue.
“The West Midlands has a proud tradition as a home of socially responsible business so I hope that in the months and years ahead, more and more businesses will be encouraged to work in collaboration with us to tackle homelessness.”
To register for the event, please click here.