2023 has been a huge year for LandAid. Thank you for the dedicated support from everyone in the property and wider built environment industry. You have helped us to bring hope and stability to more young people at risk of homelessness than ever before.
We have had so much to celebrate. But, despite our successes, youth homelessness continues to increase. We must continue to work closely with one another to ensure we are able to #EndYouthHomelessness.
“Young people facing homelessness are among the most vulnerable individuals in our society.
Nearly 136,000 young people approached their council last year as they were homeless or at risk of homelessness – an utterly devastating number and a 5% increase on the year before.
Family breakdown remains the single largest cause, but the cost-of-living crisis, the complete unaffordability of the PRS, and a relentlessly punitive welfare system all have a part to play in this national tragedy – a tragedy we estimate costs the UK nearly £8.5bn every year.
Those young people are a part of our future, and we fail our society and them unless we step in and help turn things round. We all have a part to play in tackling this issue, and those of you in real estate especially.
We are hugely grateful for your support through LandAid, and urge you all to do more to save this and future generations from homelessness.”
Seyi Obakan, CEO, Centrepoint
The number of young people reporting as homeless continues to rise and we continue to support the #PlanForThe136k, a campaign which calls for a strategy to end youth homelessness. We need effective, cross-cutting interventions for young people at risk of homelessness if we are to prevent entrenchment. Not to mention the opportunity cost of failing to harness the talents of a generation.
This year, we have partnered with a growing number of Build to Rent providers with a goal to allocate 100 tenure-blind flats. We match local schemes with reputable youth homelessness charities who have young people ready to move-on into independent living. We ask providers to subsidise the young tenants’ rent – this may be between 35%-50%.
As the environment is shifting around homelessness, we must too. Back in autumn the government announced changes to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA)- but we don't think these go far enough. We need a new strategy which reflects the increasing rate of youth homelessness and calls for greater change to #EndYouthHomelessness. You can find out more about the changes to the LHA here.
Residents - North Tyneside, YMCA
Our Grants team have been working incredibly hard. This year, we have awarded an incredible £1,035,638 to 22 youth homelessness charities across the UK through our Routes Out Of Homelessness Programme.
It’s expected that this funding will create 362 bedspaces for young people in emergency, capital and move on accommodation, as well as supporting many other initiatives such as skills workshops, therapy and access to employment programmes.
Thanks to the amazing work of our pro bono contributors, we have brokered over £500,000 worth of pro bono support for 77 different projects with 50 charities across the UK. Beyond the huge financial savings for our charity partners, our Pro Bono Programme also ensures they receive high quality specialist advice to maximise the project’s success. Read more about our projects.
Digital Inclusion – Staying connected is more important than ever in 2023 for bringing independence. That’s why we have partnered with the below organisations to help make this easier.
Vodafone – We work closely with Vodafone to provide free SIM cards to our charity partners and the young people they support. Last year, our partnership provided over £1.6m worth of data and they have now pledged to supply a further £4.5m worth of data per year for the next three years. So far in 2023, an amazing £1.4m worth has been provided.
Computers 4 Charity – We also worked with our partners in the industry to gather donations of surplus computer equipment to donate to youth homelessness charities across the UK. Since the beginning of our partnership three years ago, 124 laptops, 10 PCs and 10 mobiles have been gifted. Read more here.
LandAid Awards 2023
It’s been an exceptional year for uniting more businesses from the property and wider built environment sector. Alongside strengthening some of our more established brilliant partnerships, we end 2023 having formed exciting new relationships that have helped us grow and work towards achieving our mission. Together, we have teamed up with 10 new Foundation Partners and 4 existing Foundation Partners have stepped up to become Strategic Partners.
One of our newest partners, Oxford Properties, formed a team of 30 people who conquered the Welsh 3 Peaks Challenge in late May. Together, they raised an incredible £25,000 and have since continued to engage with us. Their support is greatly appreciated, and we are excited to work alongside them in the years ahead.
Additionally, we were honoured to be selected as Industrials REIT Charity of the Year back in April and have them come aboard as a Foundation Partner. They regularly fundraise for us taking part in our events, as well as hosting their own Source to Sea challenge in June which raised over £30,000.
Thank you to all our partners who enable us to give young people who have nowhere to turn some hope and stability. We couldn’t do this without you all!
Overall we have seen a whopping £1,036,665 raised by an amazing 2,771 participants who took part in events across our roster including the SleepOut, Tour de LandAid, the LandAid 10k, the Rugby World Cup Dinner and many more! Thank you to each and every one of you who was able to participate. Some real highlights are listed below.
Our biggest SleepOut yet – We were back in March with our flagship event and raised over £677,200 thanks to the 1,280 participants that took part. This year, SleepOut took place across 7 locations around the UK, plus the addition of a new Scottish venue in Glasgow. It’s exciting to see the event continue to grow and reach new parts of the UK.
A wet and wonderful LandAid 10K – Despite the rain we saw 864 dedicated supporters turn out in good spirits and raise over £100,000! We know our supporters are here for us rain or shine and it was wonderful to see the commitment to ending youth homelessness.
Our annual LandAid Awards – We cannot thank the businesses and individuals that support our mission enough. That is why we decided to bring back the LandAid Awards for a second year. It was a jam-packed evening of fun with some important heartfelt exchanges. Thank you and well done to all our winners and those highly commended.
North West Gala Dinner
In 2023 we continued to grow our presence across the UK, establishing our sixth regional board. Set up in Scotland, esteemed senior leaders from across the property industry assembled to unite and engage the local industry community on LandAid’s mission to end youth homelessness. Chaired by Anne Breen, newly appointed Global Head of Real Estate at abrdn, the launch of the board follows a growing sense of momentum for support in Scotland. Read more.
Back in September, runners in the Midlands took part in the St Modwen Annual Charity Run for the fifth year in a row. We saw over 300 property professionals come together to run a 5 or 10k through the toughest route in the Midlands! This year was extra special as over £50,000 was raised for LandAid, taking St. Modwen’s fundraising total for LandAid over the years to over £250,000! Read more.
The efforts of our Regional Hub Boards and Ambassadors equalled over £134,000. Events ranged from gala dinners to drag bingo, sponsored physical challenges and everything in between.
With youth homelessness on the rise in many counties across the UK, this growth in support is sadly needed more than ever. Thank you for your efforts!
Our Tech network has continued to grow. We now have 60 companies who come together regularly to share their unique skills and ideas around innovative tech led solutions to tackle youth homelessness. We were proud to receive a nomination for the Social Impact award at this year’s EG Awards thanks to the brokering of Vodafone SIM cards.
Our Ambassador Programme has gone from strength to strength with 25 new brilliant Ambassadors coming on board. This takes the Ambassador total to 110 individuals from across 69 companies. They have all shown great support, from raising our profile within their organisations and beyond. Thank you to all our Ambassadors for their creative spirit and ongoing support.
In its second year, our Patron Programme continues to unite and engage the industry’s senior leaders to amplify the impact of LandAid’s work across their networks. Our ambition is to create a social movement that operates at every level of our industry. We are hugely grateful to be supported by each of our Patrons.
We can’t end 2023 without a moment to remember our dear friend and colleague, Kevin Hunter – LandAid’s Head of Programmes & Impact who very sadly passed away in May this year.
Kevin, who we all miss dearly, made a huge impact on the lives of young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. His inspirational passion and contagious energy played a major part in allowing LandAid to create much of the impact shared above.
Kevin transformed the LandAid Grants Programme to ensure that every penny of our funding has the greatest impact, across all areas of housing and support.
Your continued support fuels our mission. Together, we can build a future where no young person is left without a place to call home.
