Gill and Richard on being Hosts with The Benjamin Foundation

“It feels to us that we gain as much as we give.”

We want to end youth homelessness and we’re tackling the problem locally by providing a home and support to up to 180 vulnerable young people in Norfolk and Suffolk every night. We give them a stable home and the skills they need so they can leave us and forge an independent life. Forming part of our Housing and Homelessness service, in addition to our accommodation centres, is our network of Hosts, who are trained and supported by us to look after young people in the Hosts’ own homes. We call this service Heart and Home.

Hosts offer a bedroom, support, tolerance and understanding to young people, who are usually aged between 16 and 18, to provide them with stability and a safe place to live. Many young people benefit far more from a home-like environment and the support of a family or individual than from a busier environment alongside lots of peers.

Gill and Richard* have been Hosts with The Benjamin Foundation Heart and Home service for four years. Here Gill explains what inspired them to support young people and describes their experience:

“When our two sons left home Richard and I decided we didn’t want to downsize, but our house felt underused so we took in a lodger. Both of us had experience of living with lodgers at earlier stages of our lives so we were not new to it. As it happened, at those times we ended up with lodgers who were struggling with difficulties in their lives. This didn’t make living with them hard, but it did make us aware of how little help there is for young men with support needs who find themselves somewhat isolated. Sam* was struggling with a marriage breakdown having left the Armed Forces with PTSD following two terms in Afghanistan. Ollie* had struggled through his childhood in a dysfunctional family with whom he was now completely estranged, as he was also estranged from the mother of his beloved toddler son. So, when we read about The Benjamin Foundation looking for hosts to provide supported lodgings, we really understood the value of giving young people a much better start in life than trying to cope in housing without support.

The application process to become hosts with The Benjamin Foundation was lengthy – but understandably so. Importantly, we were supported in this by Ollie who continued lodging with us and thought it was an excellent idea. As a member of our household he too was interviewed by The Benjamin Foundation. With hindsight we realised was hugely challenging for him but it really gave us an insight into his commitment and determination to assist the process which would allow a young person to be able to access supported lodgings. It also became a catalyst which allowed him to move forward in his life as he wanted when a year later he was able to move into his own independent flat.

Our first supported youngster came to us aged 17 from foster care. We found the experience of having weekly contact from our Benjamin Foundation Co-ordinator and knowing that he had his own Benjamin Foundation Support Worker hugely valuable. His Social Worker was, of course, also important, but it was the triangle of us, the young person and The Benjamin Foundation that felt strong.

Our second host experience (and current one) is with another 17-year-old lad, but this time an Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Child who had been struggling through the Coronavirus lockdowns living in a house with no adults, having only arrived in UK a few months before Covid hit. He actively wanted to live with older adults, especially as, at the time he came to live with us in January 2021, we were in another lockdown so he was very isolated and struggling. Once again, The Benjamin Foundation support system has proved to be invaluable as this young person seeks to negotiate his way into an adult world in an alien culture. He is an absolute delight to have living with us and it feels to us that we gain as much as we give. We know this youngster is likely to have some hard times to face ahead, for example with his refugee status claim and with the continued separation from his family and culture. We are confident the support of The Benjamin Foundation will make a big difference for him.”

If you, like Gill and Richard, could open up your heart and your home to a young person in need, contact us for an informal chat. Speak to our Heart and Home team on 01603 886930 or email [email protected]

*Names have been changed