A rewarding role as Heart and Home Hosts

“The most rewarding part of hosting is seeing the longer-term impact on a young person.”

We are looking for local people to open their heart and their home to become a Host with our ‘Heart and Home’ supported lodgings service. If you can offer a bedroom, support, and understanding to a young person and provide them with stability as they take their next steps to independence, we would love to hear from you.

Hosts can continue with all their usual/daily commitments and activities, and we welcome applications from all backgrounds, and support payments, full training and ongoing guidance provided.

Alan* and Philippa* have been Hosts with The Benjamin Foundation February 2016. Below they explain more about this very rewarding role:

Alan says: “Some of the highlights of being a Host with The Benjamin Foundation include building a meaningful and lasting connection with a young person and seeing our own family also build the connection. It’s a good feeling to watch a young person grow and know that you’ve had a little impact, and there have been various funny moments along the way too!

Philippa comments: “One of the challenges was introducing new foods and having the young person eat with us and the family. We overcame this with a gentle approach. There were also times when our young person was reluctant to undertake any tasks and work to relating to developing independence skills. We adjusted, managed our expectations and received great support from The Benjamin Foundation.”

Many Hosts find the experience of hosting a young person a highly rewarding experience, but also a valuable learning opportunity. Alan continues;

“For us, we have learned how deep the impact of a young person’s early experience is, and that we make a good team. It really helps having the wider family on board too. Living with someone 24/7 shows you a lot about your own family culture and values that you wouldn’t usually even think about. It’s a very worthwhile experience, although be prepared for a bumpy ride some of the time, as you may expect with young people navigating their way into adulthood.”

“However, the support from The Benjamin Foundation is brilliant and steers and supports you through. They had regular contact with us, were very up front with both us and the young person. We received regular reviews, which increased if and when we needed them to. They are ALWAYS prepared to listen, offer advice so we never felt that we were alone.”

“The most rewarding part of hosting is seeing the longer-term impact on a young person.”

Could you open your heart and your home to a young person in need?

Contact Claire Overton at The Benjamin Foundation on 07471 033169 for an informal chat about becoming a Host, or email [email protected] for further information.

*Names have been changed