How we help

Homelessness is stressful, and for many it’s dangerous. Whether you’re homeless, feel unsafe, leaving prison, or going through the criminal justice system, we can help.

Unfortunately, we cannot respond to emergency situations in the way that the emergency services can and will. If you are in imminent danger right now, please still contact the emergency services via 999 and ask for their assistance. Our Outreach team can help you with:

Street outreach

Our team helps young people forced to sleep rough. This could mean you’re staying on overnight buses, hiding in parks or businesses, or sleeping on the streets. If you’re unsafe and have nowhere to go, please contact us. We will meet you wherever you are, bring you what you need and help you to get into accommodation as soon as possible. We support young people into emergency provision as well as long-term homes.

Prison/criminal justice support

Our team works with young people impacted in any way by the criminal justice system. You may be in prison, going to court, have been affected by a crime or know a loved one who has.

We visit young people in prison to try and help them avoid either becoming homeless upon release or having to return to the circumstances that led them to commit crime in the first place. We can help you get housed after prison or help you find housing if you’re no longer safe.

Serious youth violence

Our specialised and experienced team works with young Londoners who are impacted by serious youth violence, crime, exploitation or any other situations putting young people at risk. We already work with young people from nearly every London borough who need to move because of their situation or who want to make changes to their lives.

If you want to reach this team directly, you don’t need to do an online referral, but you can email [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible. We do not need your name or any details about you to be able to offer advice. We can advise you over the phone without meeting you or we can meet you face to face if you feel that would be better.

Last year our team worked with:

100 young people in prison
344 young people impacted by violence or the criminal justice system
An illustration of a hand holding a smart phone, on the screen a staff member and young person are speaking to a person on video chat
26 young people who benefitted from advocacy
84 young people who had been left with no other option than sleeping rough
An illustration of a hand holding a smart phone, on the screen a staff member and young person are speaking to a person on video chat
274 by placing them in emergency accommodation to avoid sleeping rough
22 young people through regular prison visits.

Team overview

Our Outreach team are highly experienced.  Many have dealt with homelessness or the criminal justice system for decades, and they understand young people’s circumstances and the kind of support they want.

We are a voluntary service which means you do not have to work with us and under no circumstances do you have to take our advice. All we will do initially is talk you through your options and try to advise you how we can to help in your situation. If you want to go ahead with any of the options we suggest, then we will support you with this from beginning to end.

 

Alongside all the work above, our team also campaigns to change the systems that push young people into desperate and dangerous situations. We conduct research, release reports, and pressure decision-makers  to change the law and guidelines so young people get a fair chance at the life they want.

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