Shining a spotlight on the fantastic work of SIFA Fireside

Mission Translate are proud to announce our recent partnership with SIFA Fireside as our new House Charity! As a homeless charity based in Birmingham, SIFA Fireside supports a cause close to our hearts. Below, we take a closer look at the work they do and why it’s important to the Mission Translate team.

Who is SIFA Fireside?

SIFA Fireside is a Birmingham-based charity that works to support individuals in their recovery from homelessness. They provide responsive services, ensuring essential needs are met and offer practical solutions that help these individuals rebuild their lives safely and with dignity.

Homelessness is a growing concern.

At a time when living costs are spiralling, more and more people are facing poverty, unable to pay bills and often making the difficult choice between heating and food. For some, issues like these can lead to mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, or addiction, making them vulnerable to losing their jobs and even their homes.

At the end of last year, the charity Shelter reported that more than 274,000 people were homeless in England, with one in 96 people without homes in Birmingham. It is estimated that around 2,700 of these people were sleeping rough overnight, while others accessed hostels or lived in temporary accommodations.

The worsening cost crisis this year will only increase these numbers. However, the actual number of homeless adults is often unknown, with many individuals going under the radar for reasons such as ‘sofa surfing’ with friends or associates or, unfortunately, being subject to modern slavery.

What services does Fireside SIFA offer?

Fireside SIFA provides valuable services within the Birmingham community. They offer a drop-in centre for anyone over the age of 25 who is homeless or vulnerably housed. It is open every weekday morning from 9 am to 12:45 pm, when individuals can visit for a simple hot meal and a warm shower or access advice and support on employment, tenancy and much more.

The amazing staff here provide job clubs, community nurse appointments and barber visits. They also offer English language lessons and workshops on critical life skills like cooking and budgeting.

SIFA Fireside also provides emergency accommodation help outside their drop-in centre’s hours.

Why Mission Translate has chosen Fireside SIFA as our House Charity

Fundraising has always played an important role in our company culture, with our teams taking part in sporting challenges, cake sales, networking events and sponsored activities for a wide variety of esteemed charities throughout the last few years.

As a business, our heart lies in Birmingham. It’s where we were founded, where many of our team grew up, and where a number of our team work in the head office throughout the week.

We see the problems of homelessness on our local streets first-hand every day. At this time of year, when you have a warm home to go back to after a day at work, it’s worrying to see people getting ready to brave the cold night ahead.

That’s why we will be combining our efforts to support the outstanding local work that SIFA Fireside does to provide a plethora of services to the homeless all across Brum.

To offer help us fundraise for SIFA Fireside, please follow this link.