Business brains back charity's mission to give the excluded a fresh start in life

HOMELESS and dogged by low self-esteem, Jamie's CV, like his life expectancy, was rather short.

Seventeen years of heroin misuse made him the job applicant from hell. Apart from several spells in jail, he'd acquired a terrible diet and a habit of living rough.

He wasn't proud of his "prolific offender" status but it proved to be his salvation. With help from Leeds-based housing charity Foundation, Jamie has started to move on.

"I spent two years on the streets with a lifestyle at 150mph,'' Jamie now 39, recalled. "Before Foundation Housing intervened, I had refused help from anyone and had a heavy drug habit to feed."

He was heading for oblivion, and would, in all probability, have continued to be a nuisance. Then he was chosen as the first "customer" on Wakefield's Prolific and Priority Offenders scheme, a project which included Foundation.

"Foundation Housing provided me with a place I could call my own. When I decided to come clean, they gave me great support," Jamie, said.

"They provided me with help for my anxiety and diet which came when the drugs went and they even supported me with getting to my appointments until my confidence rose. Now I am looking for a job."

Foundation was established in 1984 by its current chief executive, Steve Woodford – a former probation officer – to break the cycle of re-offending perpetuated by the post-prison "people warehouse" hostels of the time.

He believed that giving former prisoners a place of their own could instil a sense of responsibility and pride that, with the right support, could help them stay away from crime.

The charity has helped more than 20,000 people in Yorkshire to gain independence. It is the third largest organisation of its kind in the UK working with offenders, and the biggest provider in Yorkshire of housing related support for "socially excluded" groups.

The more people it helps, the fewer crimes are committed and people who seemed doomed to long-term unemployment have the liberating experience of taking home some pay.

But how do you prove you're actually doing a good job? There are plenty of horror stories about taxpayers' millions being frittered away.

Foundation has enlisted the support of an organisation that is better known for nurturing captains of industry than providing help for people like Jamie.

Bradford University School of Management wants to help Foundation win new contracts over the next two years.

It's part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) – a nationwide programme which allows academics to help local firms become more competitive.

The partnership with Foundation is a bold move because fewer than one in 10 KTPs in the UK involve third sector organisations, such as charities.

But Dr Nigel Lockett, the director of the school's centre for entrepreneurship and innovation management, believes the project will enable more former offenders and homeless people to find jobs. As a result, we all might be able to sleep a little easier at night.

"Many of the disciplines of the commercial world can be used in social enterprises and charities like Foundation without compromising their core values,'' he said. "By the end of the two years, we would expect Foundation to be in a better position to show value for money, win more contracts and help more people."

Sara Hajnassiri, a PhD student at the school, is working with Foundation as part of the partnership, to ensure technology is used efficiently to record sensitive information. She's also making sure Foundation "hits the right buttons" when tendering for public sector work.

Foundation, which has 340 staff in 17 offices, has doubled in size over the past five years. Rapid expansion can, of course, bring headaches and challenges of its own.

Mr Woodford said: "A key challenge for us is the considerable change in the way funding is now awarded for the services we offer. It's not enough to be the best and well thought of in the sector if you're not competitive and cannot demonstrate value for money."

So far, Ms Hajnassiri's research indicates that Foundation's work can cut re-conviction rates among people who use its services by half.

This suggests there are huge economic benefits in terms of reducing the costs of crime and punishment, said Mr Woodford.

He added: "For the last few years, we have had to adapt to a very competitive market with more than 100 contracts across 20 different local authorities which will be competitively tendered over the next couple of years.

"The KTP with Bradford is part of helping us to mature our business-like approach through demonstrating the effectiveness of our services and developing new ways to measure performance."

To the layman, this means providing hard evidence of the numbers of people whose lives have been turned around by Foundation. The charity's Leeds team, for example, works with 720 people at a time.

Tammy Carlile and her family have received helped through its Temporary Emergency Accommodation Scheme (TEAS) and Resettlement Scheme.

Ms Carlile, 29, a lone mother with four children, became homeless because of a gas and carbon monoxide leak at her private rented property. After initially staying with another family, in cramped conditions, they were referred to Foundation, who helped Ms Carlile to sort out her debt problems with help from the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

Ms Carlile said Foundation had helped her to set goals and manage her finances. The next step is securing voluntary or paid work.

Ms Hajnassiri, who spent eight years in manufacturing and telecommunications in her native Iran, is aware of the responsibility she carries.

"It's a very different culture but I have been impressed with people's friendliness and sense of ownership here,'' she said.

"My biggest challenge is changing organisation culture, and helping people to adapt to more flexible work patterns. If Foundation loses a contract, then the consequences potentially are increases in homelessness, crime and anti-social behaviour."

It isn't all work and no play. Foundation is also behind the Barnsley Action Through Sport programme, which encourages "socially excluded" people to work towards football coaching and health qualifications. Last week, teams from the Foundation programme competed in a five-a-side tournament against local teams, including Barnsley Primary Care Trust.

For the Foundation team, just walking on the pitch was a triumphant stride away from their former lives.

Foundation facts

Leeds-based Foundation is a charity working with the kind of people that society sometimes ignores: former offenders, the homeless, women who have been victims of domestic abuse and young people at risk.

Foundation helps individuals to overcome challenges so they can become part of their community. This includes support to manage a tenancy, find a job, tackle drug addiction or improve family relationships,

Bradford University School of Management runs management programmes around half the world, and has academics and students on its Bradford site from more than 40 countries.

Its post-graduate programmes are ranked among the top 10 in Britain by the Financial Times.