Diversity is a reality of homelessness and vital to Beam's work. Homelessness as a problem does not discriminate and nor do we at Beam.
On Beam, we aim to reflect the significant diversity of the UK's homeless population, which includes women, men and non-binary individuals of all ages, genders, religions and ethnicities. This also includes refugees, prison leavers and people with disabilities.
We take positive steps to encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to Beam. Where possible, we want to remove the barriers which may prevent someone from finding a job or home. To achieve this we:
Make every effort to support homeless people from minority groups. This is done through targeted outreach work and focused publicity.
Carefully consider what further provisions are necessary for each person to successfully complete their journey with Beam. This could be funding childcare for a single mum, or arranging a translator for an important exam.
Offer information on a wide range of training courses and centres. This allows us to match any special requirements and preferences with the practicalities of the training and work goal being discussed.
Ensure the accessibility of our service - the majority of our service is delivered remotely, but we can also offer in-person sessions for those who need it
Anonymise people's campaigns if their safety would be in any way compromised by having a public profile on the internet (e.g. survivors of domestic abuse).
Take care over how the people we work with are presented on our website and in the press. We want to challenge the stigma and stereotypes surrounding homelessness, not add to them.
We work with people in a positive and open-minded way. We focus on the future, not the past, and how we can best support someone to reach their goals regardless of background.
You can look at our live diversity figures on our company impact page under the tab "who we've helped".