Former cops run for homeless centre

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority’s chief executive will prove he is prepared to go more than the extra mile to protect vulnerable people this weekend by running 13 of them for a charity building project in Sheffield.

Paul Broadbent will attempt to complete the Sheffield Half Marathon to raise funds to go towards a permanent £1.8 million residential facility for the homeless.

Paul, a former Assistant Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire, along with two retired South Yorkshire Police officers – Paul Leonard and Adrian Agar - will pound the streets of ‘the steel city’ on Sunday (6 April).

The trio all served together in the past as detectives on Sheffield’s murder squad.

Their efforts will be in aid of a project proposed by the St Wilfrid’s Centre, based in Queens Rd, in the south of the city - which they will pass five miles into the route.

Said Paul: “The GLA exists to protect vulnerable workers and free them from exploitation. The St Wilfrid’s Centre’s new project aims to free vulnerable people from homelessness – our aims are not so different.

“The workers we discover often find themselves homeless in a foreign country and in dire need of help. In Sheffield, there is a place uniquely equipped to help people in this position – the St Wilfrid’s Centre.

“The connection between the aims of both organisations and the fact that fellow runner Paul Leonard’s wife is working hard to make this project happen, gave us all a very good reason to ‘come out of retirement’.”

The former parish church of St Wilfrid’s became a drop-in centre for the homeless and needy in 1991- providing shelter, warm drinks and guidance. Its next major project is the planned residential centre.

This would provide a home for vulnerable people for up to two years at a time, giving the security of a settled address while they attend courses and try and break the cycle of homelessness and exclusion.

Deb Leonard, Development Manager at the centre, added: “Everybody at St Wilfrid's is extremely grateful for the huge efforts of those who are taking part in the Sheffield Half Marathon.

“All the money raised will go towards the St Wilfrid's Residential project, supporting homeless, vulnerable and marginalised people in Sheffield, helping them to live with independence and dignity.”

To support Paul and his colleagues by donating to their fund-raising efforts visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulLeonard1.

Further information about the St Wilfrid’s Centre can be found at www.stwilfridscentre.org.

ENDS

Press release issued by GLA Communications and Information Officer Paul Fearn. For more information contact 0115 959 7069 or email communications@gla.gsi.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

1. The GLA operates throughout the UK and is a Non Departmental Public Body.

2. The authority was formed in 2005 in the wake of the Morecambe Bay cockle picking disaster when 23 Chinese workers drowned on the sands.

3. The GLA licences companies that supply labour (gangmasters) to agriculture, horticulture, food processing and packaging and shellfish gathering.

4. Its main strategic priorities are to prevent worker exploitation, protect vulnerable people and tackle unlicensed and criminal activity.

5. Under the Gangmasters Licensing Act (2004) it is illegal both to operate as, or employ the services of, an unlicensed gangmaster.

www.gla.defra.gov.uk