On Friday 29th September, YMCA Black Country Group hosted a memorable evening to honour our dedicated hosts who have made a significant impact on their community. The Host Appreciation Awards Night was a heart-warming celebration of the individuals who have gone above and beyond to provide a warm and welcoming environment for vulnerable teenagers across…
Posts Categorized: Open Door
YMCA Open Door – Ryan’s Story
Ryan is an Open Door resident and has been living with his Host Robert for over 6 months. Here is his account of how YMCA Open Door and Robert have helped him get through a difficult time. If you have a spare room and think you could host a homeless young person, find out more…
Could you help prevent youth homelessness in the midst of COVID-19?
For any teenager, experiencing a family breakdown is one of the most challenging life experiences that they could ever face. However, the risk of homelessness for 16-18 year olds leaves them with an even more daunting prospect during the Covid-19 outbreak, as many teenagers are left wondering what will happen and where they will go….
Lord-Lieutenant Mr John Crabtree OBE Explores YMCA Open Door
Lord-Lieutenant Mr John Crabtree OBE, of the West Midlands, visited YMCA Black Country Group along with Ian Austin MP, to find out more about the Supported Lodgings and Emergency Accommodation Service, YMCA Open Door. Since 2009, YMCA Open door provides housing to young people aged 16-25 in the homes of trained and approved volunteer Hosts,…
Open Door Host Appreciation Awards 2017
Friday 28th April saw more than 45 Hosts from our Open Door Project attend Walsall Council Chambers to be presented with awards to say thank you for their hard work and dedication to the young people they have taken into their homes. The Mayor of Walsall presented the Hosts with their awards after project workers…
Open Door’s Intu Host Appreciation Evening
We are very excited to announce that our Open Door project will be holding a Host Appreciation Evening on Friday 28 April at Walsall Council Chambers. The Open Door project supports vulnerable teenagers by placing them with volunteer host families in the community. Operating across the Black Country, it is the largest Supported Lodgings and Nightstop…
Young People’s Awards Ceremony
YMCA Black Country’s Supported Lodgings will be holding its first Young People’s Awards Ceremony at Wolverhampton Council Chambers on Wednesday 7 December. Awards will be presented by the Mayor of Wolverhampton to Young People from Supported Lodgings for outstanding achievement. Clifford Harding, winner of the Pride of Britain Award in 2013, will be the guest…
More than 250,000 homeless in England
A damning report compiled by Shelter has revealed that there are more than a quarter of a million people in England are homeless. Using data from four sets of official 2016 statistics, Shelter has compiled what they have described as a “conservative” total, adjusting down to account for any overlaps between the groups, and not…
Councillors to spend Christmas in a box
Two Dudley Councillors will be spending Christmas Eve sleeping rough to raise awareness of youth homelessness in Dudley and money for YMCA Black Country Group!
Urgent need for Hosts in Walsall
YMCA Black Country Group are now half way through their campaign to recruit “25 Hosts in 25 Weeks” in order to meet the growing demand for accommodation in Walsall, but are still looking for more people to come forward in the run up to Christmas.