Homeless people find jobs at new South Yorkshire business that 'puts hope into soap'

​​​​​​The recruits make products for Labre’s Hope based in Rotherham, set up by two entrepreneurs and backed by Amazon and £500,000 from Government.

The firm hopes to help 25 people in its first year and sell across the country.

Aaron Probert, co-founder with university pal Joash Nelson-Pierce, said: “It was indescribable when we found out we had been given the funding and could make a tangible difference.

“It’s been a long journey to get here and it is something I will forever be grateful for.”

The idea came from Aaron’s chance encounter with a homeless woman in Broomhill in 2017. Her story of despair prompted him to focus his management dissertation at The University of Sheffield on helping people escape homelessness at a business making shower gels.

His idea won small grants and support from companies including Amazon but was set back due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Aaron, now aged 25 and living in Sheffield city centre, taught himself to make soap during lockdown. It became the new focus due to its 'greener' footprint.

He said: “I thought that given the climate crisis, shower gels which came in plastic bottles didn’t make sense, so I changed to soap bars instead.”

Eventually he became involved with the Well-Rotherham-Y-Accelerator programme and received a £10,000 grant to develop a social enterprise.

He called it Labre’s Hope after the patron saint of homeless people, Saint Benedict Joseph Labre.

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After extensive pitches the venture was also given £500,000 from the Government’s Community Renewal Fund, and now has an office in Parkgate, Rotherham.

Mayor of Rotherham Tajamal Khan said organisations like Labre’s Hope were vital in the current economic climate.

He told the crowd: “Too many of us take homes for granted. I met a man a couple of weeks ago in town and just a year ago he lived in London, he was on a £100,000- a-year job, a detached house, children and a wife. In a year he was left with nothing.

“I am so glad you are here as an organisation to offer people that support.”

labreshope.co.uk

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