Posted By Clore Social Leadership,
29 January 2021
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We sat down with Eilidh Stringer, a 2019 Emerging Leader fellow, for #CloreFellowFriday. Eilidh is a Development Manager Working with Together Leicester to develop Leicester’s Homelessness Charter.
Can you give us a little bit of background information about your organisation?
The Leicester Homlessness Charter was launched in 2018 because there were lots and lots of different groups, as there are in every city, working towards ending homelessness. The system was working well, and people were working together, but there was quite a lot of duplication. We often had new groups popping up who wanted to do something, but actually, they weren’t always using the most helpful approaches. For example, there were lots of groups handing out sleeping bags in the city centre, which was a really well meaning and understandable response to seeing people sleeping rough. However, there were already groups who were providing practical support.
The Charter was launched really as a way to galvanize all of that well meaning effort and passion, and try and point it in a more strategic direction. There have always been the same sort of groups around the table, but the idea of the Charter was to really go out as wide as possible, and speak to businesses, members of the public, and just anyone who wanted to get involved.
How does your role fit into the organisation?
We had a successful launch in 2018, but the Charter itself didn't really have any specific resource, so it relied on people working for other organisations to find the time to contribute. People definitely did contribute and put a lot of effort into it, however, quite early on, it was apparent that we were going to need to apply for some funding to push some things forward. So when we received national lottery funding last year, my role came up. Initially, it's a six-month development post, and the idea is to try and raise the profile of the Charter a bit further, reconnect with some of the organisations that signed up in the first place, and bring some more partners on board who aren't already involved.
What are some specific projects the Charter is working on?
One of the things we’ve done is support a diverted giving scheme called Give Leicester. We get loads of queries saying ‘what can we do if we see somebody rough sleeping and, and we don't necessarily want to give them cash.’ So the Charter, led by Charter members BID Leicester and Leicester City Council, helped set up around 15 contactless donation points in the city. It raised £27,000 in its first year, and has been pretty successful.
And then the other thing that we feel is missing is lived experience representation. There isn't really a group in Leicester that people with lived experience can come together and share their insights in a way that meaningfully feeds back to organisations. The idea is that the Charter would have a lived experience panel that different organisations could approach and consult with when new services are being designed. We've looked quite closely at the Manchester Charter, and what they've done really well is bringing in the lived experience. That's something we'd really like to do as well.
The theme of collaboration has been a real driving force at Clore Social Leadership this year. Can you tell us a little more about your experience with collaboration?
It’s definitely not always been easy. I mean, back at the start, there were some quite frayed relationships between different groups. And there still are, I'm sure, but there's now a kind of shared ethos for what needs to happen. And in the city, working together just gives us a bit of strength. If certain activities pop up, and we feel that they aren't helping towards that goal, it just gives us a framework to be able to talk to people and try and bring them on board with what's happening. I think what’s helped people come along with it is that people feel that they're part of this bigger shared effort. When the different specialised charities work together it almost means that each one can be more focused on what they're delivering, because somebody else is picking up the other part of the puzzle.
Has your experience with Clore Social Leadership had an impact on your career so far? If so, how?
It definitely has, and I think for me, a lot of it is around my confidence and belief in myself, and just having that time to focus on that. Moving into the Charter where I’m technically the only employee means that I am very much at the forefront of it. I think that without the experience with Clore Social, I perhaps wouldn't have felt able to take that on. It has given me the confidence to move into a new role and take a leap out of my comfort zone.There’s also the network that the programme has given me. I'm still in touch with lots of people that were on the development programme, and it just gives you that backing to know that you can do it, and that you can go for things that you feel passionate about.
You can find Eilidh on twitter @stringereilidh, and Leicester’s Homlessness Charter @HomelessCharter
If you would like to be featured for a #CloreFellowFriday, send us an email at info@cloresocialleadership.org.uk
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