We are excited to share news of a grant that we made recently to a charity based in Detroit called The Empowerment Plan.
Thankfully, homelessness is relatively rare. It is very unlikely that it will happen to any of us and yet it is something that affects us all. Whether in London or any big city, no matter how wealthy it is, we encounter people living on the streets. Always an arresting site but particularly so during the cold months when we need to hurry home.
Clearly, the problem of homelessness is much more complex than just challenging economics. Mental health, family breakdown, drug abuse… the list goes on and what is often seen as an intractable problem.
Intractable that is, until The Empowerment Plan was born.
Its name alone is a clue. Empowering people to help themselves.
This progressive charity was founded to provide coats for homeless people but quickly became much more than this when its inspiring founder, Veronika Scott was confronted by an angry homeless person, complaining that she did not want a coat, she wanted a job.
A light bulb moment for Veronika because The Empowerment Plan became precisely this. It manufactures specialist coats which convert in to sleeping bags. Specially designed for rough sleepers and also providing training and jobs for homeless and other vulnerable people.
Coats for homeless people, made by homeless people. A great example of completing a circle and breaking a cycle.
Since its inception in 2012, The Empowerment Plan has provided employment to 50 homeless people, all of whom have used their new skills and income to secure permanent housing for themselves and their families, not to mention the 25,000 coats that have been provided to people across America and the world.
This charity is a perfect fit for The Brothers Trust. A small charity in need of help and publicity so that it can continue its great work with very obvious and tangible results. They are supported by individuals, companies and trusts like ours. The model works and why they are ambitious and would like to roll it out across the US and beyond.
It costs $125 to produce a coat and so our donation (made possible by our supporters) will produce 200 coats – 10 of which are now in the UK and being put to good use.
Thank you for your support without which we couldn’t help great charities like this.