Firms asked to employ homeless

EMPLOYERS are being asked to give a job to a homeless person as part of a campaign by Irish industry to tackle social problems.

Firms are invited to take part in a fact-finding visit to homeless services next month to see the issues involved first hand and find out how to implement the Ready To Work programme in their own workplace.

The programme is devised by Business In The Community (BITC), a network of Irish businesses promoting corporate responsibility, but the idea has been borrowed from Britain where retailers Marks and Spencer have taken the lead in giving homeless people work opportunities.