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Property Sports Network organise networking events with a sporting theme based in the property sector.

Last week our new Head of Programmes & Impact, Sean Tizzard, joined the LandAid team. We're so excited to have Sean on board, and his first week was a busy one which saw him travelling around the UK, learning more about our grant programme, our charity partners and some of the amazing work we've been able to help fund across the country.

A few weeks ago I spent the weekend in the Lake District- it was lovely. Beautiful, quiet and I ate a cracking Thai curry that was cooked on an open fire. But I wasn't just here for a jolly, I was there as part of LandAid's second Young Voices project, with nine young people who have experienced homelessness and are part of St Basils Youth Voice group.

LandAid, the property industry charity, is behind the 'Solutions to Youth Homelessness' paper released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) today.

It is unacceptable that 86,000 young people will experience homelessness this year. Tragically, that truth is matched by another bizarre, shocking statistic. According to the government, there are 205,000 long-term empty homes ('long-term' means over six months) in England alone. This week is national Empty Homes Week.

It is a startling fact that young people in the UK are three times more likely to experience homelessness than the rest of the population, and are disproportionally impacted by job insecurity and poverty. A recent study found that one in 13 people aged between 16 and 25 in the UK have experienced some form of homelessness within the last five years.

Since joining LandAid earlier this month, I'd been looking forward to my first visit to a project we're helping to fund. I couldn't wait to see the concrete impact LandAid's grants were having on young people's lives. I'm not sure I could have attended a better first visit than XLP in Greenwich.

We're delighted that many of these projects will be funded by the RICS Pledge150 campaign. In total these projects will create 161 bedspaces, of which 60 will be directly funded by Pledge150.

Over 80 senior property professionals from across the South West gathered together this morning to form LandAid, the property industry charity, South West Fundraising Board.