The Next Step

Youth Concern help homeless 18-25 year olds take The Next Step

Local charity Youth Concern is now really close to launching The Next Step, its supported accommodation for homeless or at-risk-of homeless 18-25 year olds in Aylesbury.

Chief Executive Hannah Asquith explains: “The Next Step will provide a safe home for 9 people. During the 12-18 months they’re with us, residents will benefit from bespoke one-to-one support focussing on health, skills, employment and resettlement. The whole point of The Next Step is to ensure a smooth transition to independent living.”

So how has Youth Concern been helping homeless or at-risk-of homeless young people until now? Hannah continues: “We run Aylesbury Nightstop, an emergency host-accommodation scheme. Vetted and trained volunteers provide a bed, a hot meal, a shower and a breakfast to young people in crisis for a few nights. While they’re safely housed temporarily, behind the scenes, Youth Concern tries to find suitable followon accommodation.”

Last year, 61 young adults turned to Youth Concern in accommodation crisis. The year before, 84 – 50% of whom weren’t able to find a longer-term housing solution.

The idea of Youth Concern having its own follow-on accommodation was conceived in 2017. Fran Borg-Wheeler, Hannah’s predecessor, knew there were very few opportunities for homeless young people in Aylesbury Vale to find somewhere safe and affordable to live.

With thanks to Thomas Hickman’s Charity, COSPA and VIY the charity’s dream is almost realised. To find out more about The Next Step, including a series of videos, or to make a donation to help the charity support local young people in crisis, please visit www. youthconcern.org.uk. Thank you.