A hostel for homeless men in Greater Manchester has been saved from closure thanks to a company sales boss and his 70-year-old pal.
And it’s safe to say that Damian Ditchfield and Ken Jackson are now the toast of the Manchester charity Supporting People In Need (SPIN) after their hard work and the labour of love that went towards saving the organisation’s base.
SPIN is based at the converted Coverdale Baptist Church in Ardwick, which is known as ‘The Well’.
The charity provided dormitory accommodation for rough sleepers since opening its doors in 2014, and in addition to shelter and food, it also provides training and support to help its residents rebuild their lives, but when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit, SPIN was told by Manchester City Council officials that each resident had to have their own living space due to the need for social distancing.
Tom Herstell – Operations Manager at SPIN, whose father and uncle founded the charity – said the organisation was told that council funding would cease unless it could comply.
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That would thus have forced the closure of the hostel.
But that’s when Damian, 53 – a sales manager at Stockport-based bus and coach hire company Belle Vue Manchester – stepped in with Ken – a retired building site manager and qualified joiner who lives in Carrbrook, Stalybridge – to lend a much needed hand.
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Supporting People In Need (SPIN)Supporting People In Need (SPIN)
The kind-hearted duo voluntarily set about converting the open space in the church hall into 19 separate timber-framed bedrooms, enabling SPIN to survive.
Ken also called on building trade contacts who gave materials free of charge for the seven-week project, and Damian, who was on furlough leave from his job, made a 50-mile round trip to The Well every day from his home in Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire.
Speaking about how he got involved with the project, Damian said: “Ken is good friends with Diane Lawler, who was working at The Well as a manager, and he had done a couple of jobs for her in the past [and] it was following a conversation between them that the mission was launched.
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“When Ken heard about the charity’s plight, he didn’t want to ignore it.
“His previous experience meant he had the expertise to do the work and I offered my support so he was assured of meeting the deadline set by the council. We did all the joinery and plastering and were grateful to Irmass Co timber merchants in Trafford Park and P&L Joinery in Stockport for supplying materials at no cost.
“Without their generosity, the project would have been unaffordable for SPIN.
Supporting People In Need
“A qualified electrician took care of the electrics, and we did everything else.
“As well as the new bedrooms, we also built a new food storage area and offices with a mezzanine floor which is used as a training area.”
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Damian – who is also a part-time DJ and during lockdown has raised hundreds of pounds for food poverty relief charity FareShare UK by streaming gigs on Facebook, which have been enjoyed by families and housemates across the UK, in Europe and as far away as Australia, in return for donations to the charity – said “it was an absolute pleasure to be involved” in the SPIN project.
He continued: “It was good for my soul. We spend our lives taking, and it was great to give back to society. The people at SPIN really appreciated it. Ken is one of my closest friends and he’s got such a big heart and generous approach to life.
“He’ll help out with anything and I was only too pleased to work with him for a good cause.”
Tom Herstell added: “We had 12 to a dormitory before COVID-19 struck and were told we would not receive any further funding from the council if we couldn’t offer single bedrooms. We weren’t expecting to be able to do the work [which is why] Damian and Ken have truly saved the charity and we really appreciate their efforts.
“It was a fantastic gesture by them and we are grateful to everyone who donated materials.”
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Supporting People In Need (SPIN) is now accepting donations for Christmas of items including men’s clothes, tinned food and toiletries.
You can find more information via the SPIN website here.
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New survey reveals one in three shoppers admits to stealing at self-checkouts
Emily Sergeant
Almost 40% of UK shoppers have failed to scan at least one item when using self-checkouts, new research has revealed.
Self-checkouts started to become popular in the UK in the 1990s, and since then have evolved to meet consumer demands and solve the problem of queueing, especially taking on a life of their own in supermarkets from the 2010s onwards… but now, some exclusive new research for The Grocer has revealed that could be causing more hassle than they’re worth.
A national survey of more than 1,000 shoppers found that only 63% said they ‘never’ failed to scan an item when using self-checkouts, which leavs almost two in five who do so at least occasionally.
A third (32%) also admitted to having weighed loose items incorrectly, while 38% said they had put through an incorrect loose item.
Experts say these statistics show that “a new breed of shoplifter” has been created.
A new survey has revealed that one in three shoppers admits to stealing at self-checkouts / Credit: Aldi
“You’re creating opportunities for people who otherwise wouldn’t even think about shoplifting,” commented Matt Hopkins, who is an associate professor in criminology at the University of Leicester,
When it comes to the biggest culprits of failing to scan items at self-checkouts, the survey revealed that the under 35 age group, and men overall, came out as the most common, but it’s unclear whether this could be blamed on system error, missing barcodes, or rushing shoppers, instead of being intentional.
Surprisingly though, despite public perception and a recent headline-grabbing move by supermarket chain Booths to remove self-service checkouts from all but a select few of its busiest stores, this new research also shows that shoppers actually prefer to use self-checkouts (54.2%), over staffed checkouts (29.8%).
“In a short space of time, the self-checkout option has gone from zero to an accepted norm – and now to an active preference for many,” commented Lucia Juliano, the UK head of research and client success at Harris Interactive.
The speed and relative freedom provided by self-checkouts were the main advantages of using them, according to shoppers, with 56% choosing to use them because they’re faster.
52% cited the fact that self-checkouts allow them to ‘go at [their] own pace’.
Juliano did, however, comment that shoppers’ preference for self-checkouts may only be a reality “when there are no tech issues during the transaction”, which is said to be the “biggest bugbear by far” according to the survey.
“Retailers need to ensure the tech is spotless, the space is ample and staff are quick to intervene when needed,” Juliano concluded.
Featured Image – Ben Stevens / Parsons Media(via Tesco)
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Only 11% of Brits see Brexit as more of a success than a failure, new poll reveals
Emily Sergeant
It’s been just over five years since Britain officially left the European Union, but a new poll has revealed that just 11% think it was actually a success.
On what was a day many will struggle to forget, Britain officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, finally putting into action the 52% to 48% vote to ‘leave’ from the 2016 referendum, but now five years on, how do Brits actually feel that Brexit has gone? And what do they want our future relationship with Europe to look like?
This most-recent survey found that just three in 10 Brits (30%) now say that it was right for the UK to vote to leave the EU, which is the lowest proportion of people since YouGov began asking this question in the aftermath of the referendum.
55% now say it was wrong for the UK to leave the EU, and what’s more, just 11% now see Brexit as more of a success than a failure.
A new survey has revealed that only 11% of Brits now see Brexit as more of a success than a failure / Credit: Flickr
In what is potentially an even more damning statistic than that, however, is that one in six ‘Leave’ voters (18%) who responded to the survey now say that it was wrong for Britain to choose to leave the EU.
By contrast, just 7% of ‘remain’ voters now think it was right for the UK to leave, compared to 88% who stand firm in their decision.
Another interesting viewpoint from the survey is that among the young Brits who were unable to vote in the 2016 referendum, those aged 18-24 years old, three-quarters (75%) say that Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU, compared with just one in 10 (10%) who say the UK made the right choice.
Five years on, few Britons think Brexit has been good for anything
% saying Brexit has had a positive impact on… Control the UK has over its laws: 31% UK’s ability to respond to COVID-19: 23% British politics: 12% UK’s level of international trade: 11% British businesses: 11%… pic.twitter.com/nAN81yOHHd
When it comes to the visions for the future, 55% of Brits who responded to YouGov’s survey say they would support a complete undoing of Brexit, with 39% saying they ‘strongly support’ Britain rejoining the EU, and 33% opposing rejoining to any degree.
One in five ‘leave’ voters (20%) support rejoining the EU.
Emily Sergeant -
1st December 2020 
