Roland Sewell - The Salvation Army

ePolitix.com speaks to Lieutenant-Colonel Roland Sewell, director of Employment Plus for the Salvation Army UK and Republic of Ireland territory, about innovative ideas to help reduce homelessness.

Question: The Salvation Army has just been granted funding to develop a social enterprise scheme; what is the purpose of the enterprise?

Lieutenant-Colonel Roland Sewell: The Salvation Army's key aim is to help homeless people rebuild their lives and enter back into mainstream society. We already offer services that address psycho-social and basic skills needs, and are developing schemes to enhance a person's employability.

Our experience in running 57 hostels around the UK and the Republic of Ireland has shown that over 70 per cent of homeless people want to work, but have many issues to tackle before being able to gain and sustain a job.

We will use the Spark prize, matched with money from Salvation Army funds, to establish a commercial portable appliance testing (PAT) social enterprise business to train and employ people who have experienced homelessness and who are ready to develop skills to return to the work place. We hope this initial success will lead to further development of social enterprise models within the Salvation Army.

Question: Why do you think this particular idea was a successful one?

Roland Sewell: We believe the Salvation Army's PAT testing idea is an effective and realistic model for establishing a successful commercial enterprise scheme that also creates sustainable and meaningful employment opportunities for homeless people.

PAT testing is a key requirement of health and safety legislation to ensure electronic appliances are safe in work and public spaces. With a reported eight electrical items for every one office worker in the UK, there's a lot of equipment to be tested and considerable commercial opportunities.

The Salvation Army has some 850 churches and social services centres in the UK and Republic of Ireland full of equipment that can be tested, though we also want our trainees to go out into their communities to test equipment in businesses and other local organisations.

From the initial pilot in London we are confident business can successfully be replicated elsewhere around the country. Within the first three years the Salvation Army aims to train 72 people who will conduct more than 280,000 tests on electrical equipment each year. During the same period, we expect 48 of the trainees to move on to full employment

Question: Often if homeless people find a job and a place to live they remain at risk of becoming unemployed and homeless again, how does this social enterprise help to ensure employment is sustained?

Roland Sewell: The scheme is geared towards encouraging people to develop good habits and working to a routine, so trainees will be supported by the Salvation Army throughout the process. This includes from the initial application by people in our hostels, and the provision of marketing resources to help testers advertise their skills and services to local organisations.

The Salvation Army is starting the scheme in the London area, and there may be potential for qualified participants to become trainers in PAT testing social enterprise schemes set up in other parts of the country. Once qualified as portable appliance testers we hope that successful trainees will find employment elsewhere as testers, or they will have developed the self-esteem to pursue a career path and training in other fields.

Question: Research has revealed a link between homelessness and criminal activity, either present or past. Will the social enterprise work with the criminal justice system to gain expertise and support those previously convicted back into the community?

Roland Sewell: The Salvation Army firmly believes people have the potential for change. With careful assessment and close supervision by qualified staff, we believe this business model will empower former homeless people to rebuild the skills and confidence required to enable them to make a positive contribution to society. This is also an opportunity for businesses and organisations to partner with us to help people on their journey back into mainstream society.

Entry into the social enterprise scheme will be part of a personal development plan created by a dedicated project worker for an individual homeless person at our participating centres. We expect clients will most probably be in the second stage of the resettlement process, rather than those with chaotic lifestyles still to be overcome.

Question: Those who lack a permanent residence and often experience health problems, does the Salvation Army help people to combat drug and alcohol addiction problems as part of its work in the homeless sector?

Roland Sewell: The Salvation Army runs a resettlement programme to support individuals after they have completed a substance misuse programme in settling back into the community and living independently. Residents deal with their addiction issues as part of their personal development plan and resettlement programme. Services are provided in-house or in partnership with external providers. The Salvation Army also has a number of specialist residential substance misuse centres for problem drinkers and dependant drinkers.

Question: Some homeless charities have suggested with the right courses of action Britain can become the first country in the world to end rough sleeping, do you agree?

Roland Sewell: This is a high aim, however, homeless people are among the most marginalised in society so we must aim high. There are a combination of very complex issues that first need to be addressed. We need better prevention and earlier intervention against the causes of homeless, as well as sufficient resources in place to enable people to obtain rapid assistance when they find themselves on the streets.

Question: Do you have any final comments for ePolitix.com readers?

Roland Sewell: With 57 hostels providing more than 3,200 beds a night and a network of drop-in centres around the UK, the Salvation Army is a social welfare provider that sees at first hand the devastating effects of homelessness on people, families and communities. The Salvation Army counts it a privelege to be able to offer support and offers itself as a willing partner to government and other agencies to tackle homelessness and its causes.

The Salvation Army has always strived to offer best practice and will continue to think creatively to offer homeless people a real future and to give them more control of their lives. Social enterprise is the way forward within the homelessness sector to develop best practice in partnership with residents, to help them to get back into the community, and is central to the Salvation Army's new 'hostel plus' model of provision.