Last week, LandAid chair Liz Peace and I described what we’re going to do to respond to a national crisis. Working closely with our property industry supporters and with expert charities, LandAid is going to help end youth homelessness.
We were talking at LandAid’s Ambassadors Awards Reception, hosted by PwC. While celebrating the achievements of our 180 ambassadors from 70 leading property companies across the UK, we took the opportunity to launch LandAid’s new campaign.
LandAid already makes a real difference. We’ve funded some great projects over our 29-year history, and last year alone grants totalling £1.2m helped almost 8,000 vulnerable children and young people across the UK.
But there is the immense potential for LandAid and the property industry to make a real and lasting difference within society. And it is this potential that our new campaign will harness.
Alan Tien, a young man who had been helped by one of the charities LandAid has funded – St Basil’s in Birmingham – told the audience at the awards reception about his experience.
At 17, he was kicked out of home by his mother after their relationship broke down. St Basil’s offered accommodation, support, space and time – enabling him to continue his studies, build his confidence and self-esteem, learn to cope on his own and then to start volunteering himself. He recently completed an internship at the Cabinet Office and now works with the Youth Homeless Parliament.
A passionate advocate for St Basil’s, he also told the 250 guests that although they would never fully appreciate it, their generosity, and that of their colleagues across the industry, had given him hope and changed his life.
“Quite honestly,” he said “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for people like you.”
The property industry is historically generous and well-placed to help. Property companies invest significant sums in charities close to their hearts every year. The calendar is filled with fundraising events and galas, and companies are investing more to add social value wherever they work.
The challenge, though, is impact. Funding countless projects can dissipate the impact of corporate giving – it’s the sprinkler hose rather than the jet-wash approach.
What we really want is to help the property industry find its own charitable jet-wash setting. We want to harness some of the industry’s generosity and goodwill and focus it on achieving extraordinary change.
Which is why, from next year, all our grant making efforts will go to supporting small to medium-sized charities around the UK working to end youth homelessness.
With money, free professional property advice and support, LandAid and the property industry can make a massive difference.
We will not succeed alone. We need to work closely with charities and other funders, as well as with government. Nor will we succeed overnight, which is why we are committing to this cause for at least the next 10 years.
As Alan explained, youth homelessness is complex. Ending this tragedy will be a huge challenge. But judging by the enthusiasm at PwC on 26 November, and across social media in the week since our awards reception, it is a challenge the property industry is excited to embrace.
Today I ask you to join us in creating a unique charitable collaboration, as the property industry and LandAid unite to end youth homelessness.
Join the movement at www.landaid.org
Matt’s story
Matt is 17 years old. In his lifetime, he has been made homeless more than 20 times.
He had been abused as a child and skipped school regularly. He couldn’t read or write well and found making relationships almost impossible. He had a colourful criminal history and had spent time in custody. His life was at risk until he was referred to one of the charities LandAid supports.
Homelessness takes many forms. And the young people who find themselves in this situation can require very different approaches from the professionals who support them. Matt was felt to be too high risk for supported accommodation – the usual option for vulnerable young people who are homeless.
He can be violent and he is unable to manage his money. Any money he does get goes straight to paying off debts, so he rarely eats and his health is poor. His current temporary lodgings are squalid.
But Matt is bright, passionate and resilient. He is a survivor. Earlier this year he was teamed with a dedicated support worker and after months of intensive and compassionate work, Matt is beginning to trust the people who are trying to help him.
He is beginning to believe that his support worker may be one of the only people in his life to stick around and believe in him; a partner with whom he can work on the small, certain steps he needs to take to find accommodation, gain qualifications and get the job he desperately wants. His ambitions are no different from any other 17 year old.
*Matt’s name has been changed
