As many of you know Social Bite is our charity of the year. Those of you who have left a review of Lily Blanche on Trustpilot may know that we donate to Social Bite as a thank you for every review we receive. But we also support the charity in other ways too and donate throughout the year.
So were delighted this week when Social Bite invited us to come and visit the new village they are building in Granton on the outskirts of Edinburgh to help people transition out of homelessness. This is an incredible project and we are delighted to be backing it.
Social Bite was founded by Josh Littlejohn and Alice Thomson to help homeless people, initially in Scotland but with an ambitious model which can be replicated throughout the world. I have been privileged to spend time with Josh and have got to know a little bit of the work he and Alice are doing. Not only does Social Bite allow customers in their cafes to "pay forward" a coffee or a sandwich for a homeless person, it employs 25% of its staff from the homeless community. This often means giving people who have been written off not just a second chance but a third or fourth chance.
Josh has brought Leonardo di Caprio, George Clooney and Bill Clinton to Scotland for Social Bite and has raised millions of pounds for this incredible cause.
The Original Tiny House Scotland
Inside the Tiny House
Their latest venture is to build a village in Granton, using houses designed by Jonathan Avery of Tiny House Scotland and prefabricated by Carbon Dynamics. The village will provide a transition from homelessness back into society in a supported and nurturing environment for 20 people at a time. It will be drug and alcohol free.
The project forms part of a jigsaw of programmes that Social Bite is developing to help 800 people out of homelessness in the next 18 months. You can find out more on the video below
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