Businesses in Manchester to join force to tackle the city's homeless "crisis"

Dozens of businesses in Manchester are joining forces to help combat homelessness in the city centre.

A major summit's been explaining what companies can do to get people off the streets and back into work.

Nick Buckley from the Charity Mancunian Way's leading the drive: "We have many people in businesses who think the way to help is to hand out sandwiches, cups of coffee, sleeping bags. But when you think about it, you've given them a coffee and they're homeless next day so nothing has really changed."

A number of schemes are currently underway to help house rough sleepers - it's estimated there are around 100 in the city centre.

But Nick told us it's about ending that vicious circle - he's trying to get as many businesses as possible to offer any skills or opportunities they have as part of the Change 4 Good campaign:  "If we can have Manchester businesses every time they have a low-skilled job coming up they should be contacting us and saying do you have someone appropriate for this job. We are not going to send you someone inappropriate as that will fail. But we have people who don't have a drug or alcohol problem and they need that job, that break. We'll support then when they're in that job. That could be the one thing taht stops them from falling down the ladder again."

You can find more information atwww.mancunianway.org.uk/change4good

• Manchester
• Manchester City Centre
• homelessness
• homeless
• rough sleepers