Our CSR Agenda
At our Annual Conference, staff voted for Crisis to be our charity partners.
Homelessness will never be acceptable.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues, more and more people are being pushed to the brink and into homelessness. It’s unacceptable.
Crisis works directly with thousands of people experiencing homelessness every year. They provide vital help so that people can rebuild their lives and are supported out of homelessness for good. They offer one-to-one support, advice and courses in 12 areas across England, Scotland and Wales. How they help someone depends on their individual needs and situation. It could be with finding a home and settling in, getting new skills and finding a job, or help with their health and wellbeing. They also use research to find wider solutions to homelessness and campaign for the changes needed to end homelessness for good.
At Blue Arrow, we see the value of the work that Crisis does and how important it is for the communities we serve. We are incredibly excited about the partnership we have formed with them and will be supporting the Employment Brokerage team to help people experiencing homelessness gain skills and employment, as well as taking part in events and activities to raise vital funds to support Crisis’ services.
Through the amazing work that Crisis does, and the job-finding service that Blue Arrow provides, we know we can make a difference!
As part of our commitment to the partnership, Blue Arrow has signed the Crisis Homelessness Covenant. The Covenant, developed and launched by Crisis, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in September 2023, is an initiative aimed at addressing homelessness in communities together with employers.
The covenant creates inclusive opportunities for job seekers who have experienced homelessness and helps employers adopt helpful work practices for those at risk of homelessness within their own workforce.
To support the Covenant, we have pledged to:
1. Provide employment and training opportunities for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
2. Adopt fairer employment and recruitment policies and practices to support people affected by homelessness.
3. Help end homelessness in local communities through fundraising, raising awareness, partnerships, and volunteering.
In addition to the Covenant, Crisis has exclusive access to Blue Arrow’s newly developed Employment Bursary Fund, which provides financial support to candidates during their first few weeks of getting back into work through:
• Transport support.
• Food subsidiary.
• Costs towards job-critical employment requirements, such as Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks or Security Industry Authority licenses (SIA).
Working with Crisis will help us remove barriers to employment for those who are highly motivated to re-enter the world of employment and support Crisis in its mission to end homelessness in the UK.
