Driving for Change revs up for action

Change Please recently unveiled two London buses that have been repurposed to provide direct support to over 3,000 people a year who are sleeping rough on London’s streets. A timely intervention, it came days before the government’s pandemic measures to help the homeless were due to end and on the eve of World Homeless Day 2021.

The Driving for Change project has been made possible by customers buying Change Please coffee, in partnership with companies such as Compass, as 100% of the profits from the business go towards financing charitable activities. The initiative continues its six-year-long work with people who are homeless, providing them with the resources to turn their lives around. Through its barista training program, Change Please takes pride in its efforts to work directly with those experiencing homelessness to provide a long-term solution.

The buses will start to provide help and assistance to the most vulnerable from November onwards, ahead of the coldest months. In a world first, the initiative will provide an all-in-one direct intervention service providing those experiencing homelessness with access to free GP consultations, haircuts, dental care, and digital and financial literacy training, among many other benefits.

Founder of Change Please Cemal Ezel said: “We believe in sustainable approaches to ending homelessness and Driving for Change will give the most vulnerable people the opportunity to access crucial services that can guide and support them in changing their lives long-term. We hope to take the project nationwide and then internationally to achieve maximum impact; discussions around Paris and Los Angeles have already begun.”

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