We were delighted to welcome MP Steve Darling to Torbay Foyer to show him how we support young people on their journey to independent living and to reach their potential.
Torbay Foyer supports around 20 young people between the ages of 16 and 25 who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.
Our accommodation provides a safe space for our residents where they can thrive and be supported with services like finding long-term accommodation, education, life skills not yet developed, cooking, financial support, one-to-one mentoring, counselling and more.
We believe every young person should have a secure place to call home and so we create safe and nurturing environments across the South West and raise the profile through our Let’s Talk Supported Housing Campaign (#LetsTalkSH).
On his visit, Steve Darling shared how he was impressed with our core principles and strengths-based approach, which sees people for their strengths, talents and aspirations.
Reflecting on his visit, Steve said: “I found it a real inspiration to visit Torbay Foyer and see all of the great work being delivered by LiveWest to support young people in the bay.
“Foyers are inspired by an idea from France and the idea is making sure you have accommodation, employment and training for young people and those three opportunities working together to help set young people up for a better life.
“I love LiveWest and their core principles around supporting people with things like poverty and making sure their homes are affordable to live in and heat which is really important.
“I am really pleased they are one of our key partners here in Torbay.”
Across our network of foyers in the South West, we emphasise the importance of supporting young people into education, training and employment pathways, as well as housing stability, finance, health and wellbeing and a social footprint that supports those pathways, leading to a thriving adulthood.
All our young people are allocated a Youth Development Worker who will use a coaching style approach to help the individual identify their talents, skills to develop and next steps.
Skye Auburn, a previous resident at Torbay Foyer who has now moved onto more independent living with LiveWest, thanked Steve Darling for his visit and said: “Having Steve Darling here was a real blessing and he was so open to listening to both the staff and young people.
“For an MP to listen to my generation and hear our thoughts on what we are looking for from the Government and those in power to make the changes that will help us in the future is invaluable to us and our community as a whole.
“It doesn’t just benefit young people but generations to come.
“Torbay Foyer is such a supportive and inclusive space for young people and I am glad he came along to hear about some of the great things that are happening here.”
To help shape supported housing’s future, we are supporting the National Housing Federation’s ‘Save our Supported Housing’ Campaign which is asking the Government to increase funding for housing-related support, commit to delivering more supported homes by 2040 and ensuring the long-term housing strategy encompasses the vital role of supporting housing in the housing system.