News / Business
‘We are able to give people a second or third chance’
Armed with state-of-the-art poles and buckets, a group who have faced exclusion from society are getting a step up the employment ladder against the odds.
Bristol social enterprise Love Windows launched this month with the aim of empowering people through work and training opportunities in the window cleaning business.
“We are able to give people a second or third chance,” says Gideon Stott, who is leading the not-for-profit business that feeds revenue back into its umbrella charity Love Bristol.
Gideon Stott says the social enterprise is giving people a second or third chance
Speaking about how the enterprise started, he continues: “We sat down and spoke about it and thought that’s a great thing to do – being able to offer employment to people who are consistently excluded from the workplace due to issues such as homelessness and social deprivation.
“Window cleaning is a service that anyone with a home needs and is accessible to everyone, regardless of qualifications.
“We looked into the industry and ended up becoming quite passionate about window cleaning. It’s also a very competitive market.”
Nathaniel Elraz is one of the first employees of Love Windows
He says Love Windows officially registered as a company around just a few weeks ago, but already has a good customer base and a number of people on its team – many of whom start out in a voluntary capacity, going on to paid work.
“We have a few people we have been able to take on board who have faced some really major problems and obstacles in their lives and perhaps never had anyone to mentor them and get alongside them,” continues Gideon.
“We want to help people get to a place where they can get a stable job and a more stable life.”
Read more: Helping mums get back into work
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