Homelessness charity in West Midlands receives £90,000 cash boost
A homeless charity has received funding to help young people most in need.
Government chiefs handed St Basils, based in Birmingham, £90,000 to allow it to continue to run its Youth Voice Programme. The scheme sees selected young homeless people chosen to share their story and ensures their voice is heard.
Jean Templeton, CEO of St Basils, said: “We are really pleased to secure this funding and continue to enable young people from across the country to have their experiences and voices heard.
“It is particularly important at this time that young people can influence policy and investment decisions.
"Ensuring young people have truly affordable accommodation and support which underpins their ability to live, work, earn and learn is critical if we are to prevent an increase in youth homelessness.
“Their lived experience makes an invaluable contribution to the development of policy priorities and resource allocation.
Delighted
“The more young people can be engaged in making decisions about their own lives the more likely they are to successfully move into independence.
“This funding will provide valuable insight into the experiences of young people during the Covid-19 pandemic and highlight the challenges they face.”
The charity will also undertake a detailed review into the experiences, needs, and issues facing young people in the region housed under the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ scheme.
The insights, recommendations and learnings from subsequent study will be shared to see what works when trying to prevent future homelessness in young people.
Rough sleeping and housing minister Luke Hall MP said: “We have taken unprecedented action to support the most vulnerable people in our society during the pandemic.
"I’m delighted we’re able to continue to support St Basils this year with £90,000.”
