“I work with some very scared young people with high anxiety, so it really helps that I can say; ‘I’ve been there, I’ve done it, you will be ok’”

Ex-resident Joanna tells us of her experience of living at and moving on from St Basils in the 1990s, and how these experiences help her support today’s young residents as she now works for St Basils as part of the ‘Lead Worker Service’, supporting young people moving into their own accommodation.

Joanna knows from her own experiences this service is so needed, but it didn’t exist back when she was moving on. She’s very proud therefore to be part of the team helping young people in this way.

Youth Voice is made up of young people aged 16-25 from across England who have lived experience of homelessness. Part of the funding Youth Voice receives from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is for young people to assist local authorities. The department sent out questionnaires asking Local Authorities where they needed more support and/or knowledge and understanding.

Youth Voice, the national group that St Basils facilitates, made up of young people who have lived experience of homelessness, have had a busy few months! Youth Voice members from across England have been involved in a ‘national conversations’ project, feeding back to civil servants from a variety of government departments and advising on a number of key issues.