Housing

YMCA supports young people in communities all across England and Wales. The support we give to those young people is tailored to their individual needs.

This is why YMCA is so unique—it’s a full package of support for young people. That’s why we ask for £12 a month. From the moment they arrive, they’re taken care of. This is made possible with donations from RoomSponsors.

Sign up to become a RoomSponsor today, and we’ll send you regular updates from the young people you’re helping in your area.

Local YMCAs have great ambitions to help tackle the UK’s housing crisis by building new affordable housing tailored to the needs of their local community and young people specifically. However, there are a number of barriers which make it more difficult for local YMCAs to achieve these ambitions.

As well as the generally difficult economic context facing social and affordable housing providers, we have identified a range of challenges from interviews with local YMCAs and other stakeholders. We make six recommendations to the Government and Homes England about actions they can take to
remove these barriers.

If our recommendations are implemented, we are confident that we can enter a new era of housebuilding to equip the UK with the safe, warm, affordable homes that our communities need.

A report exploring the barriers young people in supported accommodation face when trying to move on to independent living.

In supported housing, young people are living away from their families in accommodation with shared facilities. Through support workers, reception staff, meal provision and holistic care, it is designed to be able to help young people settle and prepare themselves for independent living.

The goal is to create stability and establish a sense of purpose of what young people want to do with their lives from a safe base, while also identifying their needs and assessing their progress to move on to independence.