Multi-million pound donation brings Embassy Manchester homeless village closer
Video report by Granda Reports journalist Victoria Grimes
Dozens of homeless men in Manchester are being given a village to live in - after a donation prompted by a Granada Reports piece.
The Moulding Foundation, is giving £3.5 million to create the new development, providing homes and a community to those who may be living on the streets, and will help transform a number of dilapidated railway arches in Castlefield.
The Moulding Foundation was established in 2020 by Jodie and Matt Moulding. Matt is the founder of Manchester based online beauty and nutrition empire THG.
"We wanted to do something that will really make a difference," Jodie Moulding says. "Not just handouts or write cheques, something to get to the root cause.
"Everyone deserves a place to call home, a place to feel safe, so if we can be a part of that, that would be wonderful."
The village is the vision of Sid Williams, founder of the charity Embassy, whose work helping homeless men began with a donated rockstar tour bus - which was home to 12 men.
"We will basically house people and they'll have a live practice run at managing a home with us," he says.
"We teach people to shop, to cook, to budget and so the dream really is to take someone who is currently on the street, all the way through all the confidence and life skills building to the point where they are full time in work and renting from a private land lord, that's the plan.
"It's a staging post to move on from here so that you go from feeling like your life is down to nothing and actually discovering that there is hope and a future."
The funding means work will be able to start on the village, which will have a hall and sports ground, giving a home and a life.
The huge donation has marked a major leap forward for the plans, but more cash is needed to run the project once it is built.
Sid added: "We're going to need companies to help us with some of the materials perhaps do some of the building work at a friendly rate, also we need to land a lot of the running costs for year one.
"It's not about equal amounts, clearly not everyone can give three million, three and a half million but it's about equal heart, so if people want to be part of this please get in touch. We need people to journey it with us."
It is hoped work on the village can begin in the autumn - which will give hope to many that there is life beyond the streets.