How Do You Solve A Problem Like..?

Want to make positive change in your community and not sure where to start? Our social entrepreneurs share practical advice for those looking to create solutions to issues in their local community. Tap into the local expertise that has helped these social entrepreneurs to create the lasting positive change their communities want to see.

What have the £1 homeowners brought to North Staffordshire, and what is the role of the   Local social entrepreneurs work with their community to “tell the story of the city through art”, in Chris Parr of The Stoke 2000 project’s words. Upcycling and upskilling, they use creativity to improve access to employment and community togetherness  in Stoke – reclaiming shared spaces to make them better serve the local people. More info It’s All About Me The Stoke 2000 The Portland Inn Project

Explore the rich history of Dundee through the eyes of proud Dundonian Andrew Batchelor, founder of Dundee Culture. We find out how a background in the building trade helped John Alexander distribute £500,000 worth of food to the local community, when the pandemic placed pressure on access to essentials.   Hear how Danielle Gaffney du Plooy continued to facilitate skills-learning and safeguarding training for young people living with disabilities during the pandemic. Find out more Dundee Culture Alexander’s Community Development  Uppertunity

Female-led social enterprises in the South Wales Valleys are thriving. Many of these are focused on mental wellbeing services, and others, such as MiFuture, are improving access to employment for young people. Katie Hadley, founder of family and early-years support venture, Little Lounge, shares how they transformed their community space to meet the changing needs of local people during the pandemic. And, YourNorth, a veteran support venture, is just about to launch. Kelly Farr talks about the founders’ lived experiences that inspired it. Find out more MiFuture Little Lounge YourNorth

Who are the people transforming food systems in Brighton, to make food fairer for all?  Comedian Mark Steel introduces us to social entrepreneurs with innovative, sustainable solutions to food inequality in Brighton and Hove. We hear from Brian Coyle of East Brighton Food Co-op and Joel Essex from BrightStore about how their community food schemes have brought fresh, locally sourced produce and hot meals to those that need it throughout the pandemic. Find out more East Brighton Food Co-op Bright Store Mark Steel

In “Changing Places”, we meet social entrepreneurs from across the UK, who are creating solutions to local issues in their communities. From Brighton, South Wales, Dundee and North Staffordshire, these local leaders share how they have overcome the pandemic’s challenges - building creative, collaborative and powerful social ventures. The leaders in this series have been a part of UnLtd’s Resilient Communities programme, made possible by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery. They have co-produced the series alongside podcast professional Vic Elizabeth Turnbull from MIC Media – with social entrepreneurs from each location interviewing fellow changemakers in the area. If you enjoyed watching our Changing Places documentary series, this podcast is an opportunity to revisit the communities around the UK and meet more social entrepreneurs creating positive social change in Brighton, South Wales, Dundee and North Staffordshire. Changing Places is hosted by Alex Philips, an experienced Social Entrepreneur Sup

Since 2010, homelessness has doubled in the UK. Now, over 4,000 people sleep rough every night. The problem is growing and many of us are motivated to help, but we just don’t know what to do. We speak to Meg and Cemal who are using delicious food and drink to provide a way out of homelessness –  going beyond just providing jobs.  Change, Please founder Cemal Ezel uses coffee to transform lives. Training homeless people to become baristas they pay a London-living wage, provides housing, a bank account and crucially, therapy services, for their staff.  Meg Doherty created Fat Macy’s after working in a hostel and seeing that it was near-impossible for homeless people to save for a deposit deposit. With their supper clubs and chef training scheme, they help people get the deposit they need to start a tenancy. For full footnotes and more information on the people we mention in the episode visit: https://www.unltd.org.uk/about-us/podcast/a-problem-like Follow us on Twitter: @aproblemlikeFind out more about UnLtd:

One in ten girls or women aged 14 to 21 in Britain cannot afford sanitary towels or tampons, according to Plan International. Despite the serious consequences - from the impact on their dignity, to missing school and education, this issue was barely talked about only a few years ago. The good news is that now there are incredible entrepreneurs who say, “Period Poverty is a solvable issue.” We speak with Gabby Edlin and Celia Hobson from Bloody Good Period and Hey Girls, who are both making a difference to end period poverty, and the stigma associated with it.   Plus we’re joined in the studio by Joel Attar, Award Manager from UnLtd, where we discuss the pressure on social businesses to compromise their principles, especially when working with big corporates. We also talk about the practical ways to make your work for good sustainable.   For full footnotes and more information on the people we mention in the episode visit: https://www.unltd.org.uk/about-us/podcast/a-problem-like  Follow us on Twitter: @aproble

When you hear “unhealthy kids”, what often jumps to mind are national headlines about childhood obesity. Yet with 30% of children in UK living in poverty, many kids are actually arriving at school hungry every day. These issues are very much connected. In this episode we speak to Nathan Atkinson, a former headteacher, who found that talking about saving the environment and recycling in schools had a surprising “stealth” impact on students’ health, tackling the 1.9 million tonnes of food waste in the UK along the way. We also meet with co-founder of Evolve, John Bishop, whose venture is improving kids’ physical, emotional and mental well-being with a truly innovative programme. The holistic approach they are using isn’t just making young people healthier, it’s improving self-esteem, reducing school exclusions, improving behaviour, and more. We talk to pupils in Seven Sisters about what they think of all this. Plus we’re joined by UnLtd’s Joshua Meek in the studio to chat about how and if it’s possible for peop

In the UK, there were 39,818 knife crime offences in the 12 months ending September 2018, according to BBC research. Yet the solutions proposed by politicians and in the media often stigmatise the neighbourhoods and victims. So how do you take on a problem that is taking lives? In this episode we meet two people who have had real results in changing communities. We believe that those with first-hand experience of social issues have solutions to make change, and both Cherie and Eliza really use this principle in their incredible work with young people.For full footnotes and more information on the people we mention in the episode visit: https://www.unltd.org.uk/about-us/podcast/a-problem-like Follow us on Twitter: @aproblemlikeFind out more about UnLtd: www.unltd.org.uk      

Loneliness has been shown to be as bad for our health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and can bring on strokes, heart attacks and dementia. One in ten GP appointments is made by an older person with no other condition than that they're lonely. So how do you get strangers talking to each other? How do you talk about tackling loneliness, when the word itself is taboo? Meet two entrepreneurs responding to this issue. Alex Smith, who won the Obama Fellowship Award for civic innovators in 2018 talks about his fight against loneliness and polarisation in the UK.  Alex Hoskyn is the creator of Chatty Café, a brand new scheme that has already spread as far as Australia and Gibraltar and has the backing of mega high street chain Costa coffee. Find out more on the website for full footnotes: www.aproblemlike.com  Follow us on Twitter: @AProblemLike

Welcome to How Do You Solve A Problem Like...? A podcast for anyone concerned with the big problems facing society, we're telling the stories of the brilliant entrepreneurs using social purpose business to create solutions.  Are we facing a loneliness epidemic? How can the UK be struggling with both childhood obesity and hunger in our schools? What needs to change to stop knife crime? We hear from those working on the front line of these issues in a new fortnightly documentary podcast from UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs. @AProblemLike  @UnLtd www.aproblemlike.com