The Trust appointed black and minority ethnic (BME) homeless champion Aysha Qasim in January this year – following a successful bid for a £163,000 grant from the Government’s Ethnic Minority Innovation Fund. In a pioneer programme, Aysha recruited and trained the eightstrong specialist team, all from BME communities, to help provide support to people at risk of becoming homeless.

Aysha’s champions represent a diverse range of communities, including African, Asian, Polish and Afro-Caribbean and speak nine different languages between them. They underwent an intensive training programme with the Trust over five weeks to gain the right knowledge, skills and experience to help deliver an effective service.

The champions, Gulam Choonara, Manisha Sharma, Winston Smith, Biant Kaur, Rachel Rose, Zohair Patel, Fozia Bilal and Kinga Grela, celebrated at a certificate presentation after successfully completing their training with flying colours.

The team will now start to provide BME residents with advice, guidance and links to services to help them rebuild their lives. With their specialist skills in mentoring they will also be able to support vulnerable individuals on a one-toone basis in order to help them to rebuild or move on with their lives.

Aysha said: “Homelessness is a problem in BME communities in Trafford and we have to champion their needs. There may be many cultural or religious reasons why people do not access help. Sometimes there are excellent services but they do not feel like they can use them. “The team is now ready for business and will radically change the way the Trust provides support and outreach services to the most vulnerable within the BME community.

“The mentors will be based within the community and use their local knowledge and understanding to work towards finding culturally appropriate housing solutions.”

Local figures reveal BME residents are three times more likely to be homeless – and make up nearly a quarter of registered cases in the borough. The project aims to reduce the number of cases in BME communities by 50%. Aysha, who lives in Bolton, is fluent in Gujarati and worked for Bolton Council as an Ethnic Minority Women’s Business Development Officer since 1997 before joining Trafford Housing Trust. Previously, she was a volunteer for Bolton Racial Equality Council.

Working with partners from Trafford Women’s Aid and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council, the project, if successful, will be used as an example of good practice on a national level. Trafford Housing Trust’s Chief Executive Matthew Gardiner said: “Aysha and her team of ethnic minority mentors are set to pioneer real and lasting change for how homelessness is tackled within our BME community.

“Not only do the team understand the challenges, they are committed to helping those in need within the BME community.”