Independent People is a leading provider of housing, support and advice to young people aged between 16 and 25 in the South West. We exist to support young people to build independent lives. We do this by helping people find (and keep) a safe, stable home. We also offer support and advice on counselling, training and help finding jobs. For those young people who are struggling to engage, we run confidence-building and skills-based activities to help raise their aspirations.
Why the community needs usThere is a gap in services available to older children and young adults, those who are 16- 25 years old. We are living in a time when they are the hardest hit, through no fault of their own.Many of the young people we support have had traumatic childhoods while some are momentarily off track but when they come to us it's because they have nowhere else to go. If a community doesn't support its young people, it will eventually breakdown. Communities need their input and they have much to give!
Our impact on the communityLast year we supported over 1300 young people. This varied from simple signposting to appropriate services to providing shelter and dedicated one to one support. Every person we support agrees a Support Plan with their key worker.Local Authority pays us to give one hour of support per week per person, not enough to help someone turn their life around. Everything else we do - all the activities, workshops and life changing opportunities we have to pay for ourselves.
We run a Volunteering Scheme called VIP. We are always happy to receive applications and treat each as an individual. Please read our Volunteering pages:http://www.1625ip.co.uk/Support-Us/VIP---Volunteering-at-Independent-People.aspx
