To celebrate our 40th anniversary we are sharing 40 Stories of Impact that have shaped LandAid. Today we mark 3,000 young people supported in the period of our 2024/29 strategy through a partnership with Places for People and The Wise Group.
Hundreds of young people at risk of homelessness will get mentoring support to help them keep their home thanks to a new partnership between a leading UK social housing Places for People provider and LandAid, the property industry charity working to end youth homelessness.
In a first of its kind partnership, LandAid and Places for People (PfP), will help up to 100 young people aged 16–25 across six regions of the UK through an online mentoring programme which aims to break this cycle with early intervention support.
In the UK, every four minutes a young person becomes homeless – last year alone this equated to nearly 124,000 16-25 year olds.
Evictions from social and supported housing are now the third leading cause of youth homelessness, rising by over 40% in a year – driven by family breakdown, rent arrears linked to the cost-of-living crisis, and the end of tenancies without affordable move-on options.
That’s why we have partnered to deliver this programme.
The service forms part of a wider £120,000 joint investment by LandAid and PfP to deliver a programme to support young people across England and Scotland to stay in their homes and help them avoid breaking their tenancies.
The service combines live online learning, light-touch mentoring and practical guidance across areas including wellbeing, budgeting, confidence building, tenancy understanding and life skills.
Delivered through the Wise Group’s Connect Mentoring, the service provides flexible, structured support designed to engage people earlier – before challenges escalate into crisis and will cover six geographical areas:
Importantly, the service is not designed to replace intensive support services. Instead, it plays a distinct preventative role – helping people stabilise earlier and engage with the right support before tenancies become unsustainable. The model has been designed to work across multiple locations, providing accessible and consistent support regardless of geography.
Additional funding will also support partnerships with organisations including the YMCA in Newcastle, projects in Preston and Kent, and YMCA Derbyshire, each receiving up to £25,000 to deliver frontline support that helps individuals stay in their homes and avoid homelessness.
We exist because of the commitment of our partners, and we are proud to announce this initiative with Places for People. Together, we are taking concrete steps to prevent homelessness and support people facing hardship across the UK.Paul Morrish, CEO of LandAid
Marcus Hulme, Director of Places Impact at Places for People, said:
“Too many young people are at risk of losing their homes when earlier, practical support could help them stay on track. We want to change that. This partnership is about stepping in before problems reach crisis point – helping young people build the skills and confidence to sustain a tenancy and build a more secure future. By working together in this way, we can reach young people earlier and help prevent homelessness before it happens.”
Sean Duffy, CEO at the Wise Group, said:
“If we are serious about preventing homelessness, we need support that reaches people earlier – and models that can scale. Connect Mentoring is designed to help people build stability, confidence and engagement before issues escalate further. This partnership gives us an opportunity to test how scalable, preventative support can strengthen tenancy sustainment pathways across multiple communities.”
LandAid exists to help end youth homelessness in the UK. In 2024, we pledged to positively support 10,000 young people by 2029. Following this round of grants, awarded in partnership with Places for People, the number of young people supported so far in this strategy rose above 3,000. This leaves us on track to meet our goal of supporting 10,000 young people by 2029.
This partnership has officially recognised PfP as a LandAid Impact Partner.
This is what partnership is all about: joining forces to make real impact happen. Behind every number is a young person whose life has changed, thanks to LandAid’s supporters who make partnerships like this one possible.
By partnering with us, your business can make a real, lasting impact — funding life-changing projects for young people facing homelessness, engaging your employees in meaningful ways, and standing alongside a powerful network of like-minded companies already driving change.
The UK’s largest funder with a sole and expert focus on youth homelessness aims to create £150,000,000 worth of social value in partnership with the property industry.
