Comedian Russell Brand starts petition to find SHOC a new home

Comedian Russell Brand has joined the fight to find charity Slough Homeless Our Concern (SHOC) a new premises and has started a petition which gained 10,000 signatures overnight.

Yesterday evening (Thursday), the actor turned activist started an online petition to Slough Borough Council (SBC) and its leader Cllr James Swindlehurst, calling on the council to agree to a  change of use for a town centre building for SHOC to use.

SHOC, which runs a daytime drop-in centre for homeless people, only has its Whitby Road site until April and has nowhere to go afterwards.

In his petition, Russell, who has been involved with SHOC for a number of years said a new site for SHOC would serve as a great wedding present for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

He refers to comments made last month by Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead leader Cllr Simon Dudley urging the police to use the Vagrancy Act 1842 to move homeless people away from Windsor town centre ahead of the Royal Wedding.

“Many of the rough sleepers swept out of Windsor as result of Cllr Simon Dudley's proposed economic cleanse in preparation of Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle will need SHOC and other local facilities to care for them,” said Russell.

“As a wedding present for Harry and Meghan and as a rebuke to the low frequency conduct of Cllr Dudley and any who would further victimise the vulnerable, we are asking that Slough Council agree to a ‘change of use’ for a building in the town that will enable SHOC to have a new home.”

View the petition here