Chloe’s taking care of business at Booth House in Swindon

A SWINDON woman with a passion for charities has landed her dream job at a centre in the town which helps people who have been homeless to rebuild their lives.

Chloe Kirwan is in charge of the two businesses run by the Booth House Lifehouse on Spring Close to give its residents work experience and a chance to gain qualifications.

The Sandwich People makes sandwiches and buffet food which it sells to local businesses and the people of Swindon.

Recycles repairs and sells bicycles that members of the public have donated.

“Booth House Lifehouse is run by The Salvation Army to support people who have been homeless to rebuild their lives and break free from homelessness. Recycles and the Sandwich People were both set up to support our residents to get experience of working and work-based training as they get their lives back on track”, said Chloe.

“They learn skills such as money handling; stock management; time-keeping; budgeting and bookkeeping, which are all transferrable skills and ones you need to run a small business. The social enterprises also give our residents a sense of purpose, pride in themselves and its part of the transformation that people go through at Booth House Lifehouse as they rebuild their lives.”

Before starting her role as social enterprise coordinator at Booth House Lifehouse, Chloe worked for the Great Western Hospital as a community and events fundraising manager. She also worked for local company Capita Travel and Events and has been a volunteer with Christmas Care Swindon. 

Chloe says she enjoys working with residents at Booth House Lifehouse and wants to let more people in her hometown know about Recycles and the Sandwich People. 

“I enjoy working with the residents here and seeing how they change and develop as their confidence grows. When you see them getting to that point in their lives when they can move out of Booth House into their own home, it is very rewarding and I enjoy it a lot” said Chloe.

“My aim now is to let more people know about Recycles and the Sandwich People, which are both social enterprises so we plough any profits we make back into them, so that we can grow the businesses with the ultimate aim of helping more people in Swindon out of homelessness."