Aroundtown Magazine November/December 2022 Edition

MEETS
Aroundtown MEETS
leave homelessness behind for good.
There are currently six full-time soapers at
Labre’s Hope, as well as three part-time staff
who are employed solely to take part in the
employment and life skills sessions. So far, the
business has provided employment for 14 people;
many of the full-time staff have been there since
the beginning and plan to remain at Labre’s Hope,
while others have used it as a stepping stone to
finding other work.
Whatever path someone is on, the job is theirs if
they want it – no questions asked.
“Other people have tried to do something
similar but did it wrong. Aaron has done it
incredibly right. There’s no pretence with him.
He’s done all this with a bottomless heart but
also a business mind. He’s very analytical and is
always looking at how he can make the company
thrive so it makes money to sustain these roles,”
Danny says.
The idea for the business started when Aaron
and Joash met at Sheffield University. In his
second year of studies, Aaron chanced across
a homeless woman who told him about how she
ended up on the streets after making the decision
to leave behind a life of domestic violence and
alcoholism. He then wrote his dissertation on how
to use business to improve homelessness.
Aaron had also been part of the Enactus
“
As well as being kind
to skin with no harsh
chemicals or colourants,
the vegan products are also
kind to the planet with no
palm oil or plastic.
”
Society, a student-led social enterprise that
focuses on developing projects to solve
worldwide issues.
“I joined on a whim but ended up loving it more
than my degree. I didn’t realise you could make
a career out of helping people, but I knew that’s
what I wanted to do with my life. In April, I was
invited to be a keynote speaker at the Enactus
event in London and I took our staff along with me.
It was a very surreal moment and felt like I’d come
full circle. It’s been a remarkable year with an
awesome group of people.”
A £500,000 grant from the UK Community
Renewal Fund, as well as funding from the South
Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority, enabled
them to launch the business at the end of last year.
As a self-confessed skincare nerd, Aaron chose
soap as everyone has a daily wash routine so it
is something that everyone can buy. He taught
himself how to formulate soaps and scents during
the Covid lockdown, trialling up to 20 variations
of a blend of essential oils until he became
somewhat nose blind.
The Labre’s Hope range of soaps has five
scents to choose from, with each ingredient
chosen for its scientific and therapeutic benefits.
As well as being kind to skin with no harsh
chemicals or colourants, the vegan products are
also kind to the planet with no palm oil or plastic.
Soap is made using a hot process and the
vast workshop is set up like a laboratory with
apparatus and equipment galore. When we
visited, the team were busy working on a mental
health first aid qualification, but Aaron told us there
are usually three people making soap, two cutting
and packaging the bars and one – usually him –
sending out the orders.
“We’ve had a few hiccups since we started but
it’s generally been because people have their own
traumas to deal with and it’s been the wrong time
for them. They see a mountain in front of them
and a job is the last thing they need or want,”
Aaron says.
But when it is the right time, people who have
experienced homelessness can make hugely
positive contributions to businesses and society.
Three of the soapers shared their own personal
stories with us about the obstacles they’ve faced
and why grabbing this opportunity with both hands
has been life changing.
Before starting at Labre’s Hope in February,
Ben had been fruitlessly searching for jobs despite
having a degree in Criminology. He found himself
homeless after university when moving back in
with his parents in Essex was no longer an option.
He slept in his car and on friends’ sofas and
kitchen floors, but no fixed address meant there
was no proof he existed so he couldn’t see a
doctor when unwell or apply for Universal Credit.
Some university mates moved to Sheffield and
invited him to stay for a few months while he got
sorted. Then Covid hit and he was trapped. When
restrictions were eventually lifted, his temporary
housemates decided they needed their space
back. Ben was put in touch with Crisis who found
him a flat, but he needed a job to sustain it. He
was applying for jobs for a year before Crisis told
him about the role at Labre’s Hope.
“Aaron is a very unique person – I’ve never met
anyone like him and was blown away by his ethos.
Ben
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