SOCIAL housing provider Incommunities hosted a national conference in Bradford today to raise awareness about the growing problem of homelessness.

The day-long event was aimed at a group of young graduates from across the UK, who are part of the Graduate Employment Mentoring programme (GEM) and came to Bradford to learn more about what they can do to tackle the issue.

Speakers at the conference included Incommunities chief executive Geraldine Howley, David Tovey, who now runs his own fashion business after living on the streets, and Nigel Tooby, artist-in-residence at Simon on the Streets, a charity which helps the most desperate homeless people in Bradford and across West Yorkshire.

Ms Howley said the event was inspirational for everyone gathered, especially the group of graduates. She said: “Despite a lot of legislation being introduced over the last 50 years to assist people, there has been an increase in homelessness; doubling nationally since 2010. Together with Bradford Council and Horton Housing, we are collaborating to try and tackle homelessness. The problem is increasing in Bradford, but it is not anywhere near as bad as in cities such as London and Manchester.

“When homeless people are sent to us, they are our priority.”

Ms Howley said preventative work was the cornerstone to how Incommunities was trying to tackle homelessness. She said: “We have staff who deal with benefits and money issues, to stop people losing their homes, to help them find jobs, and we even help them with things like furniture.”

Mr Tovey, a rough sleeper turned fashion designer, gave an insight into the desperation of homeless people.

He was an army chef who cooked for the Queen before various problems led to him living on the streets. He tried to commit suicide in 2013, but was saved when he was resuscitated.

Since then, he has started his own fashion brand, Man on Bench, which raises awareness of homelessness and will be featured next year in a show at the Tate Modern in London. He said he told his story to the gathered graduates to prove no matter how bad things get, broken people can improve their lives.

“It is those people who are going to make a difference,” he said.

“By showing them a true life story, it will help them to understand homelessness and show them how to do the right thing. It only takes one person to change a person’s life.”