Catering for those who want to change their lives

Admitting that you've got a history of "sofa surfing", and spending time behind bars usually leads to an embarrassed cough, or a curt rejection, from the other side of the table.

Create would like to change all that. It has helped dozens of former rough sleepers to acquire the tenacity and self-confidence to find work. Men and women who had a rootless existence have been given the chance to gain experience of catering and retail.

Over time, many have left their former lives behind. Create was founded in late 2007 at St George's Crypt, in Leeds, by Sarah Dunwell, who ran her own outside catering firm.

Initially, it provided outside catering services to major companies, using the skills of former rough sleepers who had undergone intensive training.

Since then, it has grown to become a sophisticated business that reels in around 1m a year.

Altogether, 35 full-time staff and 70 volunteers work at its four cafs – three in Leeds and one in Bradford – and a boutique clothing store in the St John's Centre in Leeds. All this growth has been driven by people who once slept on blankets in the street, or on park benches.

The next phase in Create's development is Create Potential – a "personalised employment support scheme" which is seeking funding.

"We want to be able to offer more experience to more people,'' said Ms Dunwell, who is chief executive of Create, which is based in Holbeck, Leeds. "We came up with the idea of an employment academy. People can work for three days a week in one of our businesses and spend two days a week building up their confidence and skills base.

"That gives them the ethos of work. They can say they turned up on time for 12 weeks and handled stressful work situations and a range of customers."

People who have slept rough, or had problems with drug abuse, often come to a difficult crossroads when they try to lead independent lives. Their former associates have gone, and they must avoid the temptation to regress.

Ms Dunwell said: "There are people with a background in rough sleeping who have come a long way on their journey. They want to stabilise their life and become independent. If they are going to be independent, and economically active, which is good for all of us, they need a job. People use work as a social network as much as an income generator."

Initially, Create wants to "skill-up" between 60 and 80 former rough sleepers from the academy's base near the Merrion Centre in Leeds.

The initial three-month scheme has been funded as a pilot by Leeds City Council and the Homes and Communities Agency. Ms Dunwell said: "It costs 2,400 per person – the social return on investment is

8 for every 1 invested in

Create.

"All of the people taking part have got backgrounds in homelessness; accompanying that is a wide and chaotic history. However, most rough sleepers have at some point held down a job.

"After completing the course, they will have been trusted with the keys to a shop and will have had access to the till. They will also have got a reference. The first catering manager at Create is now a chef in a hotel in Scotland."

Ms Dunwell wants Create to become one of the leading social enterprises in the UK. She added: "We are seeking 3m investment to roll out to 10 centres – this could include venture capital and European money."

The aim is to find managers around Britain who can copy Create's business model in their home town or city.

Ms Dunwell added: "They have got to be the right people.They must combine an entrepreneurial spirit with an empathy with this group of people."

A foothold in the jobs market

Leeds-based Create is a not-for-profit company which develops training and employment opportunities for people who have been homeless or classified as vulnerable.

It helps former rough sleepers to get a foothold in the world of work by giving them a chance to work in Create's catering, housekeeping and retail businesses.

Working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Probation Service, Create also provides a structured environment for offenders to rebuild their lives.

Create also operates FareShare West Yorkshire from its warehouse in

Holbeck, Leeds.

This project takes surplus food from producers and retailers and delivers it to areas where people have the greatest need of a healthy diet.