King's honour for charity chief helping homeless into jobs

PRAISE FOR FOUNDER OF STANDING TALL

- JANE HAYNES News Reporter

MODEST Christy Acton says his King's birthday honour for helping the homeless is 'not for me' - but for the people he's empowered to get off the streets and into jobs.

Christy, 49, has received a British Empire Medal for his services to homeless people in Birmingham and the region.

But asked what he thinks his honour is for, he highlights the achievements of others, including the team around him but, mostly, the people he helps.

Like Steve, who was broken finan-cially after a marriage breakdown left him on the streets, until Christy's 'Standing Tall' venture talent-spotted him at a homeless hostel.

Steve was found full-time work with Birmingham firm Lambe Construc-tion, one of the charity's employer partners, and moved into the spare room of a Standing Tall host to help get him set for independence. He is now thriving.

Christy says: "He was a qualified plumber but had lost everything and was feeling hopeless - with our help he earned himself a job and a new life, and to top it off he got married last summer and I was at his wedding."

Steve's story is one of dozens of successes at the venture, which Christy launched five years ago after previ-ously working for Birmingham City Council's neighbourhoods team and then helping set up and run a home-less hostel in Digbeth.