A CHOIR for homeless people is on its way.

Brighton Housing Trust is joining hands with The Choir With No Name to start the venture in the city in June.

The choir will bring homeless people together for weekly rehearsals and will perform live regularly.

Marie Benton, who founded The Choir With No Name in 2008, said: “There is a big homeless population in Brighton and it is an exciting place to be.

“We had such a fantastic reception at our Brighton Dome gigs, so we feel like we are knocking on an open door here.”

Marie taught a makeshift choir to sing Primal Scream’s Moving On Up on the i360 on Brighton seafront yesterday to celebrate the launch.

Chris Llewellyn, director of the CriSeren Foundation and secretary at The Bevy Pub in Brighton, who attended the event, said: “I have seen the difference that the Choir With No Name can make on people and places.

“There is a growing and increasingly noticeable homelessness problem in Brighton and I am so pleased that the choir is coming to provide their really effective and human solution.”

Andy Winter, chief executive at the Brighton Housing Trust, said: “We have followed the amazing work of The Choir With No Name for many years so it is an absolute joy to be joining with them.

“Our clients will be able to get together, sing and provide each other with support.”

Adel Tuzani, one of the choir’s original members and a trustee, also sang at the event.

He said: “I was homeless for four years and the choir allowed me to reconvene with people, engage my brain and grow in confidence.

“I now pay my own rent through singing and acting and stand on my own feet.”

North Portslade Labour councillor Peter Atkinson, who sits on the housing committee, said: “The choir helps people who would otherwise be lonely and isolated.

“I have been in choirs before and it is so uplifting, and good for the psyche.

“The live performances raise money to start more choirs so it is very self- sustaining.”

The Choir With No Name is now looking to recruit a choir manager and choir director in Brighton and Hove.

For more information on these roles, contact Andy Winter on andy.winter@bht.org.uk or Marie Benton on marie@choirwithnoname.org.