Depaul UK has been shortlisted to become Skipton Building Society’s next charity partner. Being chosen would mean securing an additional £2,000,400.00 funding over three years to improve and develop three of the charity’s key services – emergency accommodation, family mediation and housing advice.
The youth homelessness charity, along with two other organisations, has made it to the final round of the process, but now relies on votes from eligible Skipton members to secure the top spot. Skipton Building Society members will be asked to vote for who they would like to win the partnership from 22nd March to 29th April at 2pm.
If Depaul UK secures the Skipton partnership, the funding will be used to support vital services such as Nightstop, its national emergency accommodation service that places young people, who would otherwise face a night on the streets, in the home of a trained and vetted volunteer. The money would also be used for Reconnect, the charity’s family mediation service, which aims to re-build broken relationships that have contributed to a young person having nowhere safe to live and would fund the entirety of our Housing Advice service, including growing the service to support our networks in the north of England for the first time.
Homelessness in the UK is rising. The combined impact of increased debt, spiralling bills and the low incomes that young people are often on can lead to conflict at home, which exacerbates family and relationship breakdowns – one of the biggest drivers of youth homelessness.
The latest statistics show that 136,000 young people aged 16-24 presented themselves as homeless to their local authority – a figure that has grown by 25 percent in the last four years. Experts believe the true number could be as high as double that figure with many young people experiencing hidden homelessness by sofa surfing, sleeping on night buses, and staying with strangers.
The Skipton partnership could be transformational for Depaul UK’s work in regions of the country with some of the highest needs, including London and the Southeast, the North East, and the North West. This would allow the charity to deliver impactful support to some of the most marginalised young people in our society.
Depaul UK is urging eligible Skipton Building Society members to vote for them from 22nd March to 29th April at 2pm to help transform the lives of young people at risk of homelessness. Eligible members can check their emails from Skipton Building Society for further instructions on how to vote.