In January Education Day is celebrated internationally, recognising the crucial role of education in individual well-being and beyond.
At LandAid we recognise the core role of education, training and employment opportunities in breaking the cycles of homelessness for young people.
£10,000
Victoria Road, Surbiton KT6 4NG, UK
In 2024, YMCA St. Paul’s Youth Project received a £10,000 Employability Programme grant from LandAid for their Finding Your Feat Programme, helping young people build confidence, skills and futures.
The LandAid Employability Programme was created to maximise our unique position to create pathways into education, employment and training for young people.
As essential as safe, affordable accommodation is in the fight against youth homelessness, young people can only truly move on when they have access to quality jobs that provide sustainability and enable self-sufficiency.
With funding from SEGRO, Landsec, Avison Young and Hilton Foundation UK the LandAid Employability Fund provides financial support to charity partners to increase their capacity to deliver their own employability initiatives for young people experiencing homelessness.
Through this grant stream, we are able to set our employability programme in action to support a range of emerging and existing employability projects, including helping YMCA St. Paul’s Youth Project kick start a brilliant new programme.
As we celebrate LandAid’s 40 years of impact, we recognise the introduction of this programme as a milestone in LandAid history, opening education, training and employment opportunities that underpin long-term stability.
Having historically mostly focussed on the provision of homes, we knew we needed to respond more strategically to the range of factors that cause youth homelessness and prevent young people from moving forward in their lives.
In 2025, we funded projects which are on route to support 345 young people!
The LandAid fund supports YMCA St Paul’s Youth Project to achieve its aims: offering young people safe spaces to explore who they are, make good decisions, increase their self-esteem, develop interpersonal skills and build emotional resilience — giving them the confidence and skills they need to live, learn, work and achieve.
Through the funding, the charity launched the ‘Finding Your Feat’ programme in Hayes, an employability programme supporting 12 young people with confidence-building, CVs, interview prep, and a £250 bursary to help them prepare for employment.
This effectively equips them with the skills they need to achieve positive futures.
What is the Finding your Feat Programme?
Finding you Feat is a 7-week employability initiative designed to empower young people experiencing homelessness to take the next step toward their goals.
Run by YMCA St. Paul’s Youth Project dedicated Youth Work team in partnership with LandAid and our programme’s founding partners, the programme helps young people build key employability skills, offering real-world experiences, weekly themed sessions, and ongoing support.
After the programme ends, participants continue to receive up to six months of mentoring and guidance from the youth workers to help them transition into employment, apprenticeships, volunteering, or further education.
Each week of the Finding Your Feat journey focuses on a different theme – from CV building and interview prep to social impact and team collaboration. Combined with long-term follow-on support, it’s a truly holistic approach to employability.
Thanks to LandAid’s property industry network, participants of the programme got the opportunity to visit SEGRO plc’s London Office for a Dragon’s Den-style pitch session.
This gave the young people the opportunity to deliver a presentation in a real corporate setting, build public speaking, teamwork, and planning skills.
They approached the challenge with confidence, professionalism, and creativity.
“This experience was all about helping young people build skills they’ll use in the future. Presenting in a real workplace isn’t easy, but they really stepped up with confidence and creativity. Huge credit to them all for making it such a positive and valuable experience” – Alice Hall, Youth Programme Officer, YMCA St Paul’s Youth Project
This funding makes such a difference for the young people we work with. It means we can be there for them, build trust, and help them feel more confident about themselves. Little by little, we see them picking up life skills, exploring routes out of homelessness, and taking steps towards a more stable, independent future, which is amazing to watch.George Bergin, Youth Programme Officer, YMCA St Paul's Youth Project
Find out more about the projects that have given young people a safe and affordable place to call home.
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.
Use your partnership for good. Donate your time and expertise to support charities across the UK combatting youth homelessness.
