THE Gilead Foundation of Jacobstowe is celebrating, after making it to the finals of a national competition. Finalists in the Spark competition will compete to win a share of a £500,000 prize fund, plus mentoring and a two-day 'enterprise makeover'. The Gilead charity, which runs an organic farm at Risdon Farm, provides accommodation, rehabilitation, training and employment for 25 men, women and children who would otherwise be homeless. The Spark competition is part of a major refocusing of Government homelessness strategy, challenging hostels and charities to promote greater entrepreneurial spirit and give homeless people opportunities to develop the skills and confidence and move onto sustained independent living and provide a springboard to jobs and opportunity. The finalists in the competition will pitch their business ideas to a panel of leading entrepreneurs, including Nigel Kershaw, Big Issue Invest chief executive, at an event in May. All 15 finalists will receive coaching to help them develop their social enterprises to help more homeless people into training, volunteering and jobs. Gilead's marketing manager Lois Samuel said she was 'really excited' when she was given the news that they were among the finalists. 'It was a bit of a shock, but a good one,' she said. Lois this week took part in the first of two training days prior to the 'Dragon's Den' in May. 'There's going to be five out of the 15 who will win a share of the money plus help with consultancy work,' she said. 'We have a small organic milk round, delivering to doorsteps, and if we win we would like to increase that, but we would also like to sell organic cheese or yoghurt to increase our output and also provide additional training in those areas so that our clients can go into employment once they finish with us.' New cases of homelessness recorded by local authorities in the South West have fallen by 5 per cent in comparison with the same period last year, to 1110. Junior housing minister Iain Wright said: 'We've made great progress reducing homelessness but we need to see a greater emphasis on providing routes into training and employment for homeless people. 'The Spark competition has lit a fire in the homelessness sector. The quality of applications shows there is a real appetite for change and it's been tough to choose the best fifteen.'
