Homelessness
Banksy artwork highlighting homelessness appears in Birmingham overnight
Notoriously anonymous graffiti artist Banksy has unveiled a new mural in Birmingham, which focuses on homelessness in the city. Painted onto a brick wall on Vyse Street in the city’s Jewellery Quarter, next to a bin, the piece of art sees two reindeer seemingly pulling a bench as a sleigh. In a video posted onto…
Birmingham mosque opens its doors to city homeless as temperatures plunge
A Birmingham mosque has launched a winter freeze project to help protect the city’s homeless as temperatures plummet to deadly levels on the streets, especially at night. The Green Lane Mosque and Community Centre in Small Heath has opened its doors to the needy and vulnerable and has had an influx of service users, including a regular attendee restricted to…
WM Mayor Andy Street: ‘Monitoring homeless hostels is not our responsibility’
The selecting and monitoring of homeless accommodation isn’t the responsibility the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) task force, according to West Midlands mayor Andy Street. In an interview with I Am Birmingham, the metro mayor highlighted some key successes in support for the homeless in the region, but fell short of criticising Birmingham City Council for providing inadequate…
Local resident sets up street watch group to combat prostitution and drugs in Handsworth
A resident of Handsworth has set up a street patrol team to combat anti social behaviour in the area, including prostitution and drugs. Tariq Rashid has formed the Handsworth Community Action Group with a group of volunteers who meet regularly and patrol the streets, making notes and providing help to any vulnerable people in the area.
2018: An amazing year in the life of the Aston Villa Foundation
The past 12 months have seen the Aston Villa Foundation make major strides towards becoming one of the biggest sporting charities in the West Midlands. With a team of over 60 staff is now in place, the charity works across numerous projects to deliver over 250 sessions to over 6,500 individuals each week.
Aston Villa Foundation donates £6,000 to Mayor’s ‘Change into Action’ homelessness campaign
The Aston Villa Foundation has donated £6,000 to Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street to help provide specialist support for the homeless. The money was raised at May’s inaugural Big Villa Sleep Out, where a host of fundraisers spent the night in the Trinity Stand concourse at Villa Park.
Striking new book reveals raw portraits of ‘Invisible Britain’
A brand new book of powerful portrait photography is set for release in November, documenting real stories of people “left behind” by media narratives and isolated by the affects of austerity in today’s Britain. Invisible Britain: Portraits of Hope and Resilience is a series of 40 stories and portraits spanning 120 pages, carefully curated by writer…
Brum comedian Shazia Mirza to serve up a night of laughs to help city’s homeless
Birmingham-born Shazia Mirza is heading back to Brum to raise money for the city’s homeless, as part of an annual event hosted by Itihaas Restaurant. Joining fellow comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli, who will be hosting the event, Shazia will perform at Itihaas’ ‘Curry & Comedy’ night on 21 September, raising money for local charity Let’s…
Birmingham Muslims are feeding city’s homeless during Ramadan
A group of Muslims who fed the city’s homeless and hungry over the Christmas period are doing the same again, this time throughout Ramadan. Volunteers with The Birmingham Outreach Foundation have been meeting in the city centre every week throughout the Islamic holy month to distribute food and drink to those in need.
Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips becomes Big Issue vendor for the day
Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley, took to the streets of Birmingham this week to get a taste of life as a Big Issue vendor. Joining 25-year-old Big Issue vendor Michael Hadley on his regular pitch in Piccadilly Arcade, the parliamentarian spent Thursday experiencing the challenges of selling the street magazine first-hand.