Congratulations to accredited Youth Foyers!

Last month, we were thrilled to award Aberdeen Foyer, On Route Foyer, Preston and Merriweather Foyer, Sheffield Foyer, Sunrise Foyer and YMCA Essex with Youth Foyer Accreditation, demonstrating their strong commitment to developing and delivering high quality supported housing provision for young people who can’t live at home.

Youth Foyers are more than a place to stay: they are thriving communities, with people – not circumstance – at the heart. They work with young people aged 16-25 to break the cycle of homelessness and move on in life equipped to thrive as independent adults.

By sharing power, building on strengths and providing holistic, wrap-around support, Youth Foyers work with young people to develop and achieve goals for their futures – and the Youth Foyers who are awarded Accreditation have demonstrated both their commitment and impact in delivering this service.

At the heart of a Youth Foyer is the Advantaged Thinking approach – seeing young people’s strengths and talents rather than defining them by their circumstances – and all six youth supported housing services accredited last month showed strong dedication to this.

Dave Andrews, Foyer Manager at Sunrise Foyer, who were awarded Youth Foyer Accreditation for the first time this year, said,

“This has been a really positive experience and I am extremely proud of the journey we have taken over the past 12 months… Thank you for all of your support and help throughout this process. I’m really looking forward to the next 12 months as we continue to grow.”

Sam Mobbs, Sheffield Foyer Manager, said,

“The Sheffield Foyer has been open since 1997 and we have always prided ourselves on meeting the quality standards set by the Foyer Federation… Our local commissioners are also impressed with our level of quality and we are probably the only supported housing project in the city to gain any sort of recognition through an accreditation programme.  This always helps to impress when we are looking at completing our next tender for funding.

“The Foyer Federation staff were always at hand to give advice when needed, they really want their Youth Foyers to show their full potential and be successful through the process.”

Leanne Logan, Service Manager at On Route Foyer which is managed by Churches Housing Association of Dudley and District (CHADD), said:

“Being accredited by the Foyer Federation is a huge deal for us… It validates the quality of the service and accommodation we offer for young people. I have been at CHADD for nearly 8 years and have been involved with the Accreditation from when I started and to see the progression from then until now is amazing.

“What I love about the Accreditation is that you constantly evaluate your service and always improve on what you did the year before. There’s continued learning and development each time you go through the process which makes the service offer even better as you progress. It helps us especially as we are local authority funded so having an Accreditation supports us when contracts are up for tender.

“The support you get from the Foyer Fed team is fantastic and being part of the Foyer Federation network feels like we’re one big family. I have to add, I actually burst out crying tears of joy when I read the report from Claire! How it’s worded and the language used is really positive and strength based (of course!) which made it feel so lovely to read.”

Congratulations to all Youth Foyers who have been awarded Youth Foyer Accreditation!