The subject of homelessness can feel taboo. There are a myriad of stereotypes associated with it, but a real lack of awareness of what it actually means to be homeless. Someone without a home. But what does ‘home’ really mean? This is a complex topic that raises countless questions and issues, yet homeless or not, we are all human beings.

Join Josh Coombes, Founder of grassroots movement Do Something For Nothing, Jade Statt, vet and co-founder of charity StreetVet and Alex Stephany, Founder and CEO of Beam, for an interactive event centred around homelessness. A short talk from our experts will be followed by a chance to come together with fellow members and connect around the issue of homelessness and ways in which we can tackle the difficult questions that arise from it.

Alex Stephany is the Founder and CEO of Beam, the world’s first crowdfunding platform for homeless people. Since launching in 2017, Beam has raised more than £3m in donations, helping hundreds of homeless people secure homes and start work in sectors facing skills shortages. Beam has won numerous awards including London’s Top 10 Startups by WIRED magazine and Best Financial Inclusion Startup in Europe from MIT. Before Beam, Alex was CEO of JustPark where he led the largest ever crowdfunding round for a tech startup at the time. An expert on the sharing economy, Alex is the author of The Business of Sharing, which was published by Macmillan in 2015. He has also advised the Mayor of Seoul on collaborative technology.

Josh Coombes is a selfless young hairdresser from London who, in 2015, took to the streets of London on his days off and gave haircuts to people who were experiencing homelessness. He started posting images of the people he met on social media and a global movement was born. Josh is the founder of Do Something For Nothing, a grassroots movement that focuses on how we can all use our skills and time to help those around us. He is a British hairstylist and founder of #DoSomethingForNothing – a social media movement that encourages and inspires people to connect their skills and time to those who need it.

Jade Statt is a vet and co-founder of charity StreetVet. Jade’s journey is one intertwined with Josh as meeting him was a catalyst to her putting on a backpack and going out on the streets of London offering free accessible vet care to pets belonging to those experiencing homelessness. StreetVet is now fuelled by over 400 veterinary volunteers swapping their practice for the pavement in 17 locations across the UK.

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