The CHS Employment Fund plays a crucial role in supporting young people aged 16–25, living in our supported housing services who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, who are striving to achieve independence through employment.  

Many of these young people face financial barriers due to the complex housing benefit system which makes them financially worse off when they start working. Rent in supported housing services is higher than in the private sector because it includes the one-to-one support to residents which provides life skills training, emotional support, and job-readiness. For residents not working, housing benefit will pay all but a nominal amount of the rent, typically £14.05 a week. However as soon as our residents start working, they see a significant cut in their housing benefit which means they pay a disproportionate amount of their income on rent. This disincentivises them to find work and leaves them more vulnerable to long-term unemployment, anti-social behaviour, exploitation, or criminality. 

Our young people are some of the most disadvantaged in our society having already lived through a difficult childhood either in care, dealing with bereavement and experiencing abuse and/or neglect. But they have big ambitions to build a better future for themselves and want to work. To encourage our young people into employment, we have capped the rent for residents who are working to £119.05 a week but there is no local authority funding to cover the gap between the reduced housing benefit and the actual rent. The CHS Employment Fund was established to bridge this gap by seeking grants and donations from local businesses and organisations who want to invest in the future of young people in their communities. The Fund ensures that these young people can pursue their goals without the risk of losing essential support helping them to build a better future. 

Case study – Wheatsheaf Close and Thomas Parsons Partnership

In January 2024, we launched a ground breaking trial at our Wheatsheaf Close service in Ely, in collaboration with Thomas Parson’s Charity. Thanks to a generous donation of nearly £7,000, over the past 12 months, we were able to support 10 young people in securing and maintaining employment while continuing to benefit from essential support at Wheatsheaf Close. This initiative cost just £1.86 per day for each young person in work — an incredibly small investment yielding significant, life-changing results.

The success of this trial has inspired us to expand this support to all residents in Cambridge and Wisbech, ensuring that every young person living in our supported housing services who is ready for employment can access this critical assistance. We’ve already received generous donations from organisations like PocDoc, SureServe, and Fortem, and we’re eager to find more partners to support this initiative.

What sets this program apart is that CHS fully covers the administrative costs, ensuring that 100% of donations directly support the residents. This means our young people no longer have to choose between gaining employment and receiving the vital support they need to thrive.

When It’s Needed (WIN), was set up in 2018 to provide support to the young people living in our supported housing services. In 2024, this support was extended to young people living in CHS general needs homes aged 16-25 years old.  This fund provides three types of support to help level the playing field and give young people the same opportunities as their peers: 

• ‘Community gift’ – we reach out to the local community to source support needed (donated items e.g. clothing, equipment) through our local community appeals 

• Financial support – we use the financial donations we receive to pay for anything that cannot be sourced/donated from the local community e.g. forms of ID, travel costs to college, eye tests/glasses or prescriptions, educational course registration fees, equipment needed for new job (work boots) 

• Facilitate practical support or work experience 

The aim of WIN is to be able to step in, ‘when it’s needed’. It offers support for things that would normally be provided by family and friends, often without a second thought, but either because the young person is estranged from their family or their family are living in poverty, this isn’t an option. For many families, often the support needed by the young person will rarely be a priority when household budgets are squeezed. If we can step in and provide something that is needed, this will ease the pressure on the household budget whilst still ensuring the young person gets what they need. 

The young people living in our supported housing services are some of the most disadvantaged in our society. They are disproportionately impacted by poor social networks and support, lack of stability, traumatic histories, structural inequalities, isolation and low access to education and work and without additional support this will have a lifelong impact on our young people. 

Whilst our support teams do an amazing job and deliver what support they can, funding constraints restrict how much support they can offer on an individual basis.  Offering one-to-one mentoring to our young people will contribute significantly to their personal and professional development, providing support, assistance, encouragement and inspiration to the young person at a time of transition and over a sustained period of time. 

Working closely with Goal 17, specialists in young people’s mentoring, we will recruit mentors who have a genuine interest in the wellbeing of young people who are reliable, dependable and trustworthy. They will then establish a process for matching mentors with mentees taking interests, career goals, and personal preferences into consideration. Our mentoring scheme will provide skills development, career guidance, confidence building, personal growth, sharing knowledge, leadership, goal setting and planning, emotional support, diversity and inclusion.

Our Young Parent Project provides accommodation and support to young parents and their children who are at risk of homelessness. As part of this support, we also run our Young Parent Project Nursery Bursary Fund which provides financial support to our young parents for up to two days of childcare a week for children aged six months and above.  

With costs at an all-time high, early access to nursery childcare is prohibitive to most of our young parents who are on low-income benefits. Although there are government-funded early education schemes in place that offer free childcare to parents of young children, these are only available to working parents (minimum of 16 hours a week).  Our parents and their children are only entitled to free childcare once the child is two years old.  Therefore, the children of our young parents are missing out on the crucial early year’s socialisation and learning that will put them at a disadvantage right from the beginning of their young lives. 

With support from our bursary, our young parents can use this time to return to work, continue with their education or to volunteer.  Parents contribute a £3 a day subsidy towards the cost of childcare and can choose their preferred childcare provider to best suit their individual needs e.g., close to work or college. 

Case story – Jo’s journey to independence and empowerment

Jo*, was referred to our Young Parent Project (YPP) in May 2023, after living at another supported housing scheme for six months due to overcrowding and struggles with mental health in the family home. She had a premature baby born at 24 weeks, who was still in NICU when Jo moved into YPP in May, eagerly awaiting her baby’s discharge in late July. 

Despite a history of severe anxiety, Jo engaged fully with support and therapy whilst staying at YPP, which helped her navigate emotional challenges in her relationships, especially with her partner. Therapy also led to personal growth, enhancing her emotional resilience.  

Once her baby was well enough Jo applied to the Nursery Bursary fund for two days a week childcare which allowed her to return to work – a remarkable achievement for a young new mother.  Without the bursary, Jo wouldn’t have been able to access free childcare until her child was two years old. 

Jo has thrived in her role as a mother and set long-term goals. She chose to stay at YPP for another year to maximise the support that was available to her. By the time she left, she had saved enough money to rent a new 2-bedroom home near her family and work. Jo continues to engage with the community, attending baby groups and social events. 

By March 2025, Jo was full of life and aspirations. She decided to pursue a career in midwifery, planning to start college in September. Jo’s transformation into an empowered, confident mother and future professional is a testament to her resilience and the support she received from YPP. 

*name has been changed