The 2019 London Homelessness Awards open on Monday 29th April. We had a Q&A with Alex Stephany, CEO of Beam who won the £30,000 first prize in 2018 to find out what difference the award has made.
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What does Beam do?
Beam is an online platform that lets anyone help a homeless person for the long-term by funding their employment trainer. Beam is partnered with the Mayor of London and leading homeless charities including Shelter, St Mungo’s, Thames Reach and Centrepoint and is 2018’s 1st prize winner of the London Homelessness Awards.
Why did you apply for the London Homelessness Awards?
The LHAs has an awards panel comprising amazing expertise from the homelessness sector – people running major charities who are leaders in their field. We wanted to share Beam with them but more than anything we wanted their feedback on our work.
Were you surprised to win?
Yes! We were incredibly surprised to win – I couldn’t quite believe it, even after it was announced! It really was a dream day for the team and some of Beam’s members [the clients we support] who joined us for the ceremony in the stunning setting of City Hall.
What impact did this have on the team?
Winning the LHAs was an incredible vote of confidence in our team and model. It’s helped us attract some brilliant talent – and hopefully will continue to. On that note Beam is aiming to more than double its team this year so please check out our open roles!
What did you do with the prize money?
We are using the £30,000 of funding to fund campaigns and to provide a charitable surplus in case funding is harder to come by over the summer months. So far though Beam has funded 100% of its campaigns (now more than 70). You can see more transparent information on our campaigns and impact here –
What would you say to projects thinking of applying this year?
If you’re doing work that you think matters, get an application into the LHAs. It’s an amazing ceremony and an amazing prize. But above all there are so many brilliant people and organisations you will meet as we did as part of the application process. So go for it!
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For more information about the 2019 awards and to download an application form, go to www.lhawards.org.uk
