Paul Freeth was understandably nervous as he prepared to give a presentation at a gathering of the great and good of Oxfordshire's business world. But he overcame his nerves to make his point — that businesses can make a real difference to people struggling to keep their lives on track during tough times.

Having been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for several years, he said a successful spell of work experience at solicitors Morgan Cole in Botley helped him to realise that he still had a future.

Mr Freeth, 41, said: “In my early 20s I had a horse-riding stables and I was happily married. But then, after spending so much time in hospital, I lost my business, my marriage had broken up and I was homeless.”

His first breakthrough came when, with support from workers at Simon House, he did work experience with Aspire, a charity for the homeless.

“I was putting the market stall up at Gloucester Green, and then they took me on part-time for a couple of years, but I still had a few setbacks with mental health problems.

“Then I was told that Morgan Cole wanted someone for two weeks to cover for someone on holiday in the mail room. I had never done anything like that before, but I went along to the interview, extremely nervous.

“I ended up doing it for ten weeks, and they said that if there had been a full-time role they would have taken me on. It gave me a lot of confidence.”

When his work experience came to an end, he found a full-time job, setting up a recycling scheme for Aspire.

“I now have my children back in my life, having not seen them for 14 years; I volunteer at the Gatehouse homeless project and for the Tandem befriending scheme. My life has turned around,” he said.

Linda Baird, of Morgan Cole, is delighted at his progress. “He was incredibly nervous, but enthusiastic. Within about two days he was fantastic — willing to work hard and very helpful. It was great for our staff to see him go on and get a full-time job when he had been unemployed for so long.”

Morgan Cole is one of the founders of the Responsible Oxfordshire Business Involvement Network (Robin), which has entlisted more than 60 members since it was set up 18 months ago.

Mr Freeth was one of the speakers at this year's showcase for Robin, a partnership between business, public and voluntary sectors. Grant Hayward, of Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action, said the network is not about money, but that relationships develop and profiles of members are raised, which often stimulates other forms of support.

One initiative, called inVOLve, encourages employees to use their expertise and skills in the local community.

“There are an awful lot of businesses doing things already, and we want to get them inside the network so that we can share experiences. We also want to involve businesses that are not doing anything, and to show them the benefits.”

Amy Wackett, of Oxfordshire Mind, welcomes the network not just for the direct benefits of resources and fundraising, but also for breaking down barriers.

“Robin has helped us establish some valuable links with local businesses. This has been highly beneficial, not only in terms of sharing resources and gaining sponsorship for fundraising events, but in raising awareness among local employers about mental health and well-being.”

Mr Hayward said: “Local employers have had their fair share of difficulties recently, but involvement in the network brings all kinds of benefits back into organisations.

“The feedback from customers and clients is that they like to deal with responsible and caring organisations. Therefore getting involved with a scheme such as Robin or inVOLve is great PR, and provides excellent opportunities for staff development.”

As for Mr Freeth, he now runs Aspire's recycling venture, running a market stall at Gloucester Green each Wednesday to sell the bric-a-brac, books, clothes, etc, collected from donors.

Until recently most of the goods came from the Burford Garden Centre, which also supports Aspire's market gardening project.

This summer, for the first time, Aspire co-operated with Oxford University to distribute 22,000 collecting bags at the end of term for students' unwanted clothes, etc.

“If we can collect enough clothes, we can get £500 a tonne for them. We're taking on three homeless people, and if it expands we could take on more. Our aim is to eventually get them into full-time employment,” said Mr Hayward.

“We want to give everything a go and we are looking for ideas.”

Mr Freeth may have turned over a new leaf, but he is keen not to hide his past.

“I want to help other people to believe they also have a future. It was very tough. There were many times when I felt my life was not worth living.”

He added: "Obviously, I still panic that it might all come back again, but I make sure that I keep busy and that I keep to a routine.”

Contact: 01865 251946 Web: www.ocva.org.uk/robin