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St Basils is both a Charity and a Housing Association with a track record of over 50 years of providing a holistic range of accommodation and support services to young people aged 16-25 who are homeless, vulnerable or at risk.

The stereotypes of homelessness can all too quickly attach themselves to young people and trap them in a cycle of homelessness and on a restrictive pathway. A focus only on need, risks and problems can overshadow talents, strengths and ambition.

 

Our Chief Executive, Jean Templeton, tells us more about St Basils. 

We want young people who come to St Basils to have the opportunity to develop a different narrative; to have the safety, security and support to visualise a brighter future and to develop the confidence, skills and resilience they’ll need to take full advantage of the networks and opportunities available to ensure they can make that better future a reality.

We recognise that homelessness is fuelled by both systemic and personal issues. Whilst our services are focused on the individual, we contribute to national policy and systemic change.

St Basils is one of the largest organisations working with young people who are homeless or at risk in the country and is the largest regional organisation of its kind.

“We want young people to feel cared about, to have trusted support, somewhere safe, suitable and affordable to live that enables them to learn and work.”

Success Stories

Want to read directly about how we change young people’s lives? See our success stories below:

Young People Success Stories

There are 4 key elements to what we offer:

Prevention

St Basils focuses on preventing youth homelessness by offering early intervention services, including face-to-face advice, family mediation, and floating support across the West Midlands. These services help young people access housing, maintain tenancies, and develop life skills, while also addressing the root causes of potential homelessness.

Prevention

Accommodation and support

St Basils provides over 40 supported accommodation schemes across various regions, offering different levels of support, including fully supported, semi-independent, and emergency accommodations. We also run community-based programs like Supported Lodgings and Nightstop, where vetted hosts offer housing and guidance to help young people transition to independent living.

Accommodation

Education, training and employment

Our 5-week Employability Programme helps young people overcome barriers to employment by building confidence, problem-solving skills, and teamwork through interactive activities. Participants gain practical experience, develop career portfolios, and earn an OCN Award, preparing them for future employment, education, or training opportunities. We have also partnered with organisations such as the NHS and HAYS to secure employment or apprenticeship opportunities for young people.

Employability

Youth engagement

St Basils’ Youth Voice program ensures young people are active contributors to shaping their future and our services, involving them in initiatives like the Youth Advisory Board, Resident Rep Program, and Recruitment Youth Panels. By engaging in decision-making, policy consultation, and program feedback, young people help improve St Basils’ services and influence national conversations on youth homelessness.

Youth Voice

Our RSI Lead, Vanessa Newey, tells us more about our 4 key elements. 

Our Principles to work by

YOUNG PEOPLE FIRST
EVERYBODY COUNTS
WORKING AND LEARNING WITH OTHERS
STRENGTH AND UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY
ACCOUNTABILITY
FORWARD THINKING
DELIVERY AND EFFECTIVENESS

The Positive Pathway

The ‘Positive Pathway’ is a nationwide framework St Basils created to help Local Authorities and their partners to work together to prevent youth homelessness, creating better outcomes for young people. You can read about the Positive Pathway framework below.

The Positive Pathway

St Basils' Charter

Designing out Youth Homelessness

To achieve it we need:

  • Access to quality information and advice for all young people and their families about housing options which enable them to make informed choices.
  • To use our data to target early help to those we know are most likely to be at risk.
  • Local Multi-agency single gateways (“Youth Hubs”) for those in crisis so they can get all the help they need, all on one site, when they need it.
  • A Youth Housing offer which is truly affordable and enables young people to live and study or work while receiving the support they need.
  • Employers to work with those who are not yet competitive in the job market or employment ready, but need a supportive and development experience.
  • High quality, psychologically informed accommodation and support for those with more complex needs.
  • Coaches and mentors who are there for the long term.
  • To gain young people’s opinions and feedback in developing the above.

How will we know if we’re successful?

  • No under 25s rough sleeping.
  • No 16/17 year olds or 18 – 21 care leavers being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation.
  • A Youth Housing Offer in place which underpins learning and work for all young people.
  • Young people will not need to be homeless to secure accommodation and support.

We focus on what we want to achieve, not just what we want to avoid

Our Strategic Priorities

We have Six Strategic Priorities:

  1. Provision of good quality accommodation which meets the needs and raises the aspirations of young people.
  2. Provision and development of prevention and support services which meet the diverse needs of young people.
  3. Young people fully involved in setting standards, identifying priorities and monitoring services.
  4. St. Basils – a good place to work.
  5. Challenging discrimination and promoting diversity and cohesion through employment, service delivery and community engagement*.
  6. Optimising resources to achieve our strategic objectives.