Church Army launches Time Bank for homeless women

At a small ceremony in Elgood House, a symbolic ribbon was cut by a representative from the anonymous foundation which has funded the development of this ingenious idea.

The Marylebone Project Time Bank has now joined the ever expanding ranks of Timebanking UK - the national umbrella charity for supporting time banks, whose slogan is "Time to give and take".

The Time Bank enables people to generate 'credit' for whatever skills they possess; credit which can then be used to 'buy' skills from another member of the Time Bank.

For example, if Katherine walks Emily's dog for an hour then she has generated one credit. She can spend that credit by getting Jack to wash her car. Katherine has given time to Emily and can now take it from Jack.

The various services offered by Time Banks are limited only by the skills of their members, and include: gardening; cooking; organising social events; dance classes; reading lessons; painting; massage and translation. For the women of the Marylebone Project, the Time Bank will give them a means of sharing skills they already possess with one another, for everyone's mutual benefit.

Before the cutting of the ribbon, Neil Biles, Marylebone's Acting Project Director, quoted Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world", before stating his hope that "all residents will find satisfaction in the Time Bank, remembering that no skill offering is too small."

The first dozen residents of the Marylebone Project, London's largest hostel for homeless women, signed up to their Time Bank at the official launch. One of the residents, Poly, was delighted to win the competition to design Marylebone Time Bank's new logo, winning a laptop in the process.

It is envisaged that the Time Bank will engage increasingly with the wider Marylebone community including the local church, St Paul's, with whom Church Army has a strong link. If this succeeds in expanding the membership then it is possible that future residents of the Project may be able to start small businesses, via the Time Bank.