Hire the Homeless is a campaign to encourage businesses in Manchester to employ homeless people, in order to help tackle the rising issue of homelessness in the city.

The problem with job applications is the need for a fixed address. Homeless people have no choice but to use their local job centre, local shelter/hostel or even local church as their postal address. This immediately creates a stigma surrounding their application and is consequently unsuccessful.

Initiatives such as Proxy Address that use ‘existing records of empty properties’ to provide addresses for those in need, can in fact help homeless jobseekers reach interview stage. However more often than not employers continue to turn away homeless people at interviews, unable to see past their own prejudices.

With homelessness rising at an alarming scale, this can no longer be the attitude.

According to Homeless Link, in 2017 Manchester ranked 4th in the highest levels of rough sleeping, with a 21% increase on rough sleeping from 2016. Greater Manchester Together state that 5,564 people are recorded as homeless within the region, as well as approximately 1 in 62 households being at risk of becoming homeless due to repossession/eviction.

It is time for businesses in Manchester to abolish the negative stereotypes surrounding homelessness and work together towards a homeless free city. The petition is addressed to Manchester City Council who we want to spread the word among businesses in Manchester about the benefits of employing a homeless person.

Please sign the petition, and stay up to date with the campaign via our Twitter and Facebook pages.

#hirethehomeless