By Naomi Desouza

Copyright birminghammail

Brummies are opening up their doors to people at risk of homelessness to help them get back on their feet. Hosts dotted across Birmingham are opening up their spare rooms to the homeless, or those at risk of homelessness, to give them a stable base as they pursue new jobs. The unique scheme is the product of Standing Tall, a Birmingham -founded organisation that aims to prevent homelessness in a sustainable way by offering work placements with local partners and matching workers with city hosts, who can provide a safe place to stay for reasonable rent. READ MORE: Single-parent families more likely to be homeless – as grim West Midlands figures laid bare READ MORE: Man who lived in West Midlands asylum hotel becomes ‘model’ Birmingham New Street worker The kind-hearted Brummies are called ‘Amici’ hosts, which is Italian for friend. The host receives £500 a month in rent from the Standing Tall guest, who would be in a full-time role. The scheme is open to “anyone that is experiencing homelessness” and has helped those as young as 18 and as old as 62. Standing Tall was founded in September 2019 by Christy Acton, who used to run night shelters in Birmingham. He founded the organisation with the aim of helping someone get back on their feet within six months. Joel Webster, a talent scout with Standing Tall, told BirminghamLive: “Christy started matching people with jobs but came across the problem of when they went into full time work they would lose their accommodation or get forced into paying really high rent, this is the first stumbling block. “They are either forced into sofa surfing or dodgy landlords, they were not able to keep up their jobs. “We thought why not people with spare rooms put it to some good, [so people] have a safe secure place to go back to. “You have your own independence and an extra level of support.” This summer BirminghamLive met Noham, a refugee who fled a brutal war and separation from his sister to become an “outstanding member” of the Network Rail team at Birmingham New Street. Noham arrived from South Sudan in 2022, claiming asylum, and living in a Home Office-run hotel in Solihull , where he began volunteering with homeless organisations in Birmingham. He was spotted by Joel from Standing Tall, and nurtured into work, where he is now thriving, alongside having the stability of a host family in the city. As part of a series investigating the far-reaching impact of homelessness, BirminghamLive has heard from single parents who have lost their homes despite working full time, business owners now in temporary accommodation and homeless families wrongly targeted by by angry protestors who dubbed them all ‘asylum seekers’. There are currently eight to 12 hosts in Birmingham for Standing Tall and the organisation is looking to boost that as they expand their links with employment partners. Joel explained: “It could be they have had a bad day at work and need someone to chat to or something as simple as not understanding a new task at their job. “If the person did seem down, they would let us know and I would offer my support to give them the best chance of sticking in the job. “After the first two to three months they have grasped the new job, that’s the key point. “We help them look at budgeting and looking at the next step after six months. “The host receives £500 a month from the individual but all the employers we work with offer full-time hours and a real living wage.” Joel added: “We ask for two references, DBS for clients and hosts, an induction at the home and a basic licence agreement. “Then we wait for the right person to come along – we try and match the personalities. “Every month we do a check up at the house and iron out any teething issues.” He said it’s not just someone with a spare room but people with “empathy and emotional intelligence” that they look for in hosts. Joel explained: “We arrange for a teams meeting between two of us and the hosts to ask them questions for example if someone is just interested in money we would not look at them as one of the main driving forces should be helping someone in need.”