New Horizon Youth Centre’s Post

We have a national blind spot around youth homelessness; Maybe, because its roots are so often found in family breakdown, we'd rather not think about it. At yesterday's exceptional meeting of National Youth Strategy Advisory Board we looked again at this issue. My reflections were that the people who work in this field are always compellingly passionate and that the situation really has not moved in the years I have been at The Mix Charity. Finally, we have a significant data issue when we look solely at 136k seeking council housing when at least twice as many young people are living in hidden homelessness, undocumented, not understood and certainly not supported. Anyway, step one might be a coherent government strategy. Join New Horizon Youth Centre's campaign below. #youngpeople #homelessness #PlanForThe136k https://lnkd.in/eqEeqxDV

Last night, I swapped the comfort of my bed for a sleeping bag on the cold concrete as part of #centrepoint's Sleep Out event. CentrePoint is an incredible charity working with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This experience gave me just a tiny glimpse into the harsh realities faced by so many young people in the UK. What was the hardest part? The cold. The noise. The feeling of vulnerability. Even knowing I was in a safe and organised environment, it was unsettling. It made me reflect deeply on how different it must feel for young people who face this uncertainty every night. What struck me the most? At the event, we learned about the complex factors that lead to homelessness. These can include family breakdowns, leaving care, escaping abuse, or simply being dealt an unfair hand in life. One fact stood out to me: homelessness isn’t just about not having a roof over your head, it’s about losing opportunities for education, employment, and stability. The cycle can feel impossible to break without support. How can you help? Homelessness is an issue we can all play a part in addressing. Please consider donating to my fundraising page https://lnkd.in/e-ED9sWd. Your contribution, no matter how small, can help CentrePoint provide the support young people need to turn their lives around. Together, we can make a difference.

On Thursday 14th November, I'll be joining some of my manifesto colleagues at Centrepoint's Sleep Out 2024. I'll be giving up my home comforts and bed for a sleeping bag on the floor on a cold wintry night to help ensure every young person is helped with the strong foundations – a job and a home. Currently, around 136,000 young people face homelessness in the UK each year. That’s a 5% increase compared to previous years, and sadly, its expected that those numbers will to continue to rise. We know that vulnerable groups are always the worst hit by changes affecting our society and more young people than ever before find themselves vulnerable and without a place to call home. If you're able to sponsor me to sleep out so that we’re able end youth homelessness regardless of what lies ahead it would be greatly appreciated. What Your Support Can Do: £10 provides a young person with a warm meal £20 funds essential mental health support £50 supports career and job training £100+ goes toward safe accommodation and education programs The link to donate is:

On Thursday last week, I swapped the comfort of my bed for a sleeping bag on the cold concrete as part of Centrepoint Sleep Out event. CentrePoint is an incredible charity working with young people aged 16-25 who are or at risk of homeless . This experience gave me just a tiny glimpse into the harsh realities faced by so many young people in the UK. What was the hardest part? It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. As a person that wears 3-4 layers inside from October - February, it wasn’t the cold that was hard. And it wasn’t the lack of sleep after the years of parenting two children, I’m used to that. It was the feeling of vulnerability. That despite being in a secure, organised environment cushioned on all sides by work colleagues, I was exposed to the elements, to potential danger. Hyper aware all night, little sleep was had and anxiety rose. Functioning the next day was hard, and that was only after one night out on the streets. What struck me the most? The path to homelessness starts much sooner than we think. Society often portrays young people as falling on hard times and leaving the family home. But the path to homelessness starts much sooner than that. When people, young people in particular, don’t have the foundational level of support they need at home or at school, little by little their opportunities to progress in life reduce. The gap widens with each obstacle making it almost impossible for them create a stable, loving and safe life for themselves. Centrepoint exist to help break that cycle, providing guidance and support, not just shelter, to help young people create the lives they deserve. How can you help? Homelessness is an issue we can all play a part in addressing. Please consider donating to my fundraising page linked below. Your contribution, no matter how small, can help CentrePoint provide the support young people need to turn their lives around and give them a fighting chance! Together, we can make a difference. #SleepOut #EndYouthHomelessness #CentrePoint

On Thursday, I swapped the comfort of my bed for a sleeping bag on the cold concrete as part of #centrepoint's Sleep Out event. CentrePoint is an incredible charity working with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This experience gave me just a tiny glimpse into the harsh realities faced by so many young people in the UK. What was the hardest part? The cold concrete. The discomfort. The lack of sleep. The noise. The feeling of vulnerability amongst many other things. Even knowing I was in a safe and organised environment, it was unsettling. It made me reflect deeply on how we take what we have for granted and how difficult it is to sleep out in the cold. Although to some it may seem like a choice it is not, people are forced into vulnerable positions which force them into this circumstance. Only a night in the cold, on the concrete truly opened my eyes beyond anything I could imagine. What struck me the most? At the event, we learned about the complex factors that lead to homelessness. These can include family breakdowns, leaving care, escaping abuse, or simply being dealt an unfair hand in life. One fact stood out to me: homelessness isn’t just about not having a roof over your head, it’s about losing opportunities for education, employment, and stability. The cycle can feel impossible to break without support. How can you help? Homelessness is an issue we can all play a part in addressing. Please consider donating to my fundraising page https://lnkd.in/dbUTzX2m Your contribution, no matter how small, can help CentrePoint provide the support young people need to turn their lives around and give them a fighting chance! Together, we can make a difference.#SleepOut #EndYouthHomelessness #CentrePoint

It is time to embark on a journey of 'Systemic Change' - Ending the homelessness misery, poor outcomes and reduced quality of life will require a systemic shift! It is interesting to read about Prince Williams view point and steer on one of the major challenges for the UK economy and local councils being Homelessness. It would be interesting to see from central government - what is the 'Whole System Plan' and solutions to tackle homelessness? Collective responsibility and collective action is required at all levels from central government, to system partners, to communities and at grass root level.

We are inspired by the work Urban Alchemy is doing to house and protect vulnerable community members. Read this article to learn how Salesforce's #NonprofitCloud supports their ability to care for their guests. https://lnkd.in/gSczeffX

Our charitable partner, KEY UNLOCKING FUTURES LIMITED supports thousands of people every year in Lancashire who are homeless or in crisis. As homelessness figures are increasing, Key's Managing Director Ursula Patten shares her support for the National Housing Federation's #Planforhousing and Centrepoint's #Planforthe136k campaigns: ‘’Homelessness will continue to increase until sufficient investment in housing is made available. I welcome the #PlanForHousing and the #Planforthe136k young people facing homelessness. We need purpose-built emergency accommodation for young people and more affordable and youth-appropriate housing as solutions to support people when they leave hospital, care, or the criminal justice system. "We need a long-term #PlanForHousing to fix the UK's housing crisis." You can read more about Key Unlocking Futures and the critical support they provide to people across Lancashire, helping them to find their feet and achieve their full potential here - https://loom.ly/yJ6EOys Key Unlocking Futures joined us in 2014 and together we provide homelessness accommodation, support services, and women's refuges for women and children fleeing domestic abuse.

This #GivingTuesday, it's crucial to acknowledge that the issue of homelessness persists, and our current approach is not working. Please consider supporting The Man/Kind Initiative with a tax-deductible donation to prevent individuals from experiencing homelessness. Your donation will provide food for at-risk children, homeless #veterans, the elderly who are facing homelessness and other #foodinsecure families at https://lnkd.in/gitcUgyB.

You know the situation is a huge mess when we are spending more but getting the problem is getting worse. Poignant, sobering piece from Inside Housing and Homeless Link that illustrates why we can't keep on like this and what we need to learn from recent history about how we got here. The sector is optimistic that change can come but pieces like this show that we need some new and radical thinking. Well done Sophie Boobis and Rick Henderson for laying it out. #ResetHomelessness https://lnkd.in/eCzdw6zk