Jul282015

Four young people appeared on a BBC Panorama special last night (27 July), to discuss their individual journeys from homelessness with help from YMCA North Staffordshire.

The 30-minute special, which was shown on BBC One at 8.30pm, covered the stories of Molly, Nat, Dave and Connor, all of whom were residents at YMCA in Stoke on Trent.

Cameras followed them for four weeks earlier this summer as each young person looked to make fresh starts in their lives, with help from their local YMCA.

For Connor and Dave, filming ended as they struggled to find alternative accommodation and jobs respectively, however, for Nat and Molly, audiences were able to see huge, positive strides being made in their lives.

Nat, a young mum who has been housed by YMCA North Staffordshire, was seen being supported around her situation with her children while Molly was able to find work and receive help with her mental health issues.

The show also highlighted the importance of Housing Benefit as a springboard to help young people find settled accommodation when there was no option to live at home.

Daniel Flynn, Chief Executive of YMCA North Staffordshire, said: “We deal with complex young people 365 days a year and we see many of them completely turn their lives around.

“For some, it may take time while for others, they see the benefit they get from being at YMCA. We are continually humbled and inspired by their stories and their passion to change and start again.

“We were delighted the Panorama were able to spend the early part of the summer with us, to give young people in Stoke a voice and to dispel some myths about young people in general.

“Thank you to everyone who was involved in this filming.”

If you know of a young person who may benefit from support from YMCA North Staffordshire, please visit www.ymcans.org.uk

ENDS

For interviews with staff or young people at YMCA North Staffordshire, please speak to Andrew Mortimer, YMCA England Media Manager, at Andrew.mortimer@england.ymca.org.uk or call 020 7186 9543.

Notes to Editors:

  • Founded in 1844, YMCA in England is made up of 114 member YMCAs working to ensure that young people have opportunities to thrive and contribute positively to their communities.
  • YMCA operates in over 530 different communities in England impacting upon the lives of over 600,000 people every year.
  • YMCAs provide almost 10,000 beds for young people every night. YMCA is the largest voluntary sector provider of safe, supported accommodation for young men and women.
  • YMCA enables nearly 43,000 people every year to engage in education, skills and training to enable them to improve their opportunities in the job market.
  • YMCA is the largest voluntary sector provider of health and wellbeing services promoting physical activity.