Andy Burnham visits Big Issue-backed homelessness charity in bid to end rough sleeping

Prime minister Andy Burnham, chancellor John Healey and housing secretary Angela Rayner took time out of Labour Party conference to visit a Big Issue-backed charity in their search for solutions to rough sleeping.

The three Labour big-hitters spent Monday (28 September) at Independence Initiative’s Bootle base. The Liverpool charity supports people facing homelessness, addiction and other forms of disadvantage with the help of Big Issue Invest, Big Issue’s social investment arm.

Burnham, Healey and Rayner, alongside Big Issue founder Lord John Bird, joined residents at the centre to stack shelves at its food pantry as well as making scouse and apple crumble in the kitchen.

The visit came just weeks after Burnham announced his intention to end rough sleeping and offer all people on the streets a route off it by Christmas.

Rayner told Big Issue ministers have, so far, been allocating funding to mayors and local authorities to mobilise the plan.

“We’re just making sure that we’re getting that wraparound support and that there’s different options,” said Rayner, who referenced Big Issue’s campaign to end no-pet policies in emergency and temporary accommodation.

“One of the barriers that often has been is rough sleepers who have pets and making sure there’s provision for them as well because you know that’s their best mate, that’s their own lifeline. So making sure that we’ve got the right provision and the right wraparound support which visiting here today [Independence Initiative] just underlines that really.

“It’s not just about giving someone a space to sleep, it’s actually about changing people’s lives and giving them the opportunity to be part of something bigger and feel part of something bigger.”

The visit, sandwiched between chancellor Healey’s conference speech and Burnham chairing a Cobra meeting over the incident at RAF Fairford, saw the government ministers see up close how Independence Initiative is changing lives.

A £100,000 investment from Big Issue Invest, alongside funding from St Martin-in-the-Fields, has helped the charity to purchase and refurbish an additional property.

That has allowed them to increase transitional accommodation by almost a third, from 19 beds to 25, with some beds at the charity’s base and others in external properties.

Burnham and Healey joined residents Carl and Darren to stack shelves at the charity’s pantry, which helps people from the local area experiencing food poverty.

Carl, from Southport, said he had been sleeping rough in a graveyard in fear after his tent had been set on fire.

Darren told the prime minister how drug addiction meant his family “disowned” him for six years before he was able to reunite with them after Independence Initiative helped him turn his life around.

“Now I’m doing well and I’ve got somewhere where I can call home. I’m back in with my family now,” Darren told Big Issue.

“Independence Initiative have helped me a lot. Before I came here, I was sort of invisible. Now I’m here I’m visible. I’ve done loads of work for the community, I’ve done 5k and 10k runs, I do football Tuesday and Thursday. They just make you feel at home.”

Read more:

• Andy Burnham exclusive on rough sleeping plan: ‘It’s not just a one-off thing for Christmas’
• Andy Burnham to donate 15% of PM’s salary to homelessness fight: ‘I want to lead from the front’
• Angela Rayner meets John Bird: ‘We’re blaming people for their poverty. And it’s not their fault’

Big Issue Invest’s £104,500 investment is a package that comprises a £93,000 loan and an £11,500 grant, which has helped The Independence Initiative acquire a new property on Mildmay Road in Bootle.

Many Independence Initiative residents are referred following release from prison or after periods of crisis, receiving intensive support to help them maintain housing, improve their health and move towards independent living. 

The charity supported 41 people through its accommodation services last year and faces growing demand.

Holger Westphely, managing director of Big Issue Invest, said the investment shows how “charities with proven solutions” can access the capital they need to grow.

“This investment comes at a critical time, when demand for safe accommodation and intensive support is continuing to grow,” said Jim Brett, chief executive of The Independence Initiative. 

“We know that providing someone with a roof over their head is only the beginning. People facing multiple disadvantages often need sustained, practical and compassionate support to address the issues that have contributed to homelessness and help them build a more positive future. This investment enables us to do more of that work, and the support from Big Issue Invest has been amazing!” 

The government has pledged to offer people on the streets a roof over their head with a wraparound support to keep them off the street in the long-term.

Big Issue founder Lord Bird said: “The Independence Initiative utilises the kind of deep, wraparound support that the government must back to give rough sleepers a sustained route off the streets.  

“I hope that, in the upcoming budget, the government will explore how social investment can unlock the funds needed to grow the impact of service providers like The Independence Initiative – empowering local experts who are already successfully getting people in off the streets but want to do more.”

Time will tell whether the government achieves its goal of ending rough sleeping in the long-term. Big Issue will be holding ministers to account.

But the Labour politicians’ visit certainly convinced those on the frontline.

Paulene Connell, the charity’s deputy CEO, said: “I was elated [when Andy Burnham announced his intention to end rough sleeping]. I was absolutely over the moon because it’s the first time somebody of that stature has put their shoulder behind this problem.

“With the track record he’s got in Manchester, I believed him and I still believe him. And after today, I really believe him.”

Darren agreed: “I hope he does good in his position. He sounds like a real down-to-earth fella and he’s up for helping the communities.”

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