More than 4,000 people sleep on the streets each night across the United Kingdom and the country’s homeless rate has doubled in the last five years. Barings, a global financial services firm and tenant at Hines’ 20 Old Bailey in London, along with Change Please—a coffee company and social enterprise that empowers the homeless community by providing barista training and employment opportunities—are on a mission to change these statistics.
Barings and Change Please have joined together to bring a permanent coffee shop to 20 Old Bailey, staffed by the homeless, to support the homeless. The facility is equipped with a kitchen space which Change Please utilizes as a training academy to enhance the skillsets of those they employ, equipping them with more opportunities for employment in the long-term. Employees are paid the London Living Wage and are provided housing accommodations, bank accounts and mental health support.
The kiosk serves a range of gourmet coffees, drinks and snacks, and offers coffee lovers access to high-quality beverages that give back to society. Change Please has won several awards, including a Great Taste Awards and a Quality Food Award, so buyers don’t have to compromise on taste and quality to make a difference.
“Change Please brings a real social value to our building as all profits help those who are less fortunate get their lives back on track. It is great to witness first-hand how this initiative is changing lives for the better,” said James Campbell Adamson, Asset Manager for 20 Old Bailey.
The site at 20 Old Bailey is one of three new permanent coffee shops that will open as part of an ongoing collaboration between Barings, Change Please and the mayor of London. Through this partnership, 14 homeless people were employed in 2019 at two existing coffee kiosks in London.
Serving an Extra Shot of Kindness
