Formerly homeless people will volunteer at huge city event.
A new initiative offering formerly homeless people the chance to volunteer at the 2016 Homeless World Cup has scored a Big Lottery Fund grant of £343,353.
Aiming to create a lasting legacy from July’s event, the Glasgow Life led project will recruit and train 200 people to volunteer in a variety of roles on and off the pitch, as well as gaining new skills and confidence though a post games programme of sports coaching, and creative writing.
Of those volunteering, up to half will be people who have been homeless at one point in their lives.
The initiative will allow former homeless people to share their stories and reconnect with their communities, and will be accompanied by a national media campaign, aimed at challenging some of the myths and misconceptions about homelessness.
The Homeless World Cup inspires people to change their life for the better
This year’s Homeless World Cup will be held in Glasgow’s George Square from 10 to 16 July.
A Big Lottery Fund Scotland spokesperson said: “The Homeless World Cup inspires people to change their life for the better. That is an aim shared with us at the Big Lottery Fund as we want our funding to make a truly life-changing and inspirational difference to people across Scotland.
“This volunteering initiative is unique not just for the impact it will have on people during the event but afterwards as well through a range of sports and cultural activities.
“We know from our previous funding that Glasgow Life has a proud record of delivering volunteering opportunities at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and this is another legacy project which we are delighted to support.”
Glasgow Life will deliver its legacy project in partnership with Glasgow City Council’s social work team, and the Glasgow Homelessness Network.
This will build on their Big Lottery funded Host City volunteer programme which helped to deliver a successful 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Entry is free every day to the tournament and tickets are not required, so more than 100,000 are due to attend.
In total, 64 teams, representing 52 countries, will come together to celebrate and highlight the year-round, life-changing work of the Homeless World Cup National Partner network.
Mel Young, co-founder of the Homeless World Cup, added: "This is a significant announcement from Glasgow today, made possible with this generous Big Lottery Fund grant. When we revealed that the Homeless World Cup would be coming here, we said we knew that the people of this fantastic city would embrace the tournament, and the values we stand for. This news is further evidence of our strong partnership with the city.
“It is vital that our celebration of hope must live on after the tournament ends, and we're sure that this volunteering programme will be a force for good for a long time to come."
