Prince recycles unsold cookers for homeless project

A charity run by the Prince of Wales is rescuing new but unsold cookers, fridges and washing machines so they can be used in accommodation for people who have been homeless.

Prince William will see the latest efforts of his Homewards charity when he visits Nansledan in Cornwall, where 24 houses are being built by the Duchy of Cornwall in an attempt to tackle homelessness.

Research has shown people who move into properties with furniture and kitchen appliances are less likely to slip back into homelessness.

Homewards said it was therefore recycling surplus equipment, such as fridges with damaged packaging that retailers would not sell, to be used in the new houses.

The housing development in Nansledan is purpose-built for residents who have experienced homelessness and intended to help break the cycle of people returning to homelessness.

It will be a wrap-around services providing welfare support for the residents, in a project delivered with Cornish charity St Petrocs. The new houses are due to have their first occupants this summer.

The project is using donations from appliance manufacturer Bosch.

Bosch said white goods such as cookers and fridge freezers and smaller items, such as kettles, toasters and vacuum cleaners, could sometimes be returned to the manufacturer by retailers because of defects like damaged packaging or other superficial damage.

Nigel Beccles, head of sustainability at Bosch, said the stock was still in perfect working condition. He said the Homewards scheme was an "incredible project" in how it made use of discarded products. "It's fundamentally changing someone's life," he said.

He said he did not realise some accommodation came completely unfurnished and the cost of buying equipment could put new residents into debt and re-start the spiral of homelessness.

He said Bosch had signed up with the Royal Foundation's Homewards charity to provide equipment for 250 homes.

"When you've experienced homelessness, it can take a long time to recover," said Max Hedges, who has been homeless and supported by St Petrocs.

"It's important that residents are set up to succeed by making sure they have a fridge so they can have healthy, fresh food, and a washing machine so that they can feel clean and presentable.

"These are the secret ingredients to helping people to create and sustain a safe, secure and stable home and never return to homelessness," he said.

Michael Corbishley, head of local delivery for Homewards, said the project showed that by donating otherwise surplus goods "businesses can play a pivotal role in preventing homelessness across the UK".

"Housing is essential to preventing homelessness but it's important that houses feel like home. We know that people are more likely to sustain their tenancy if it's furnished when they move in," he said.

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