Supported Lodgings Providers for Young Care Leavers - Paid volunteer opportunity
In partnership with Depaul UK, Cheshire West and Chester Council is committed to creating brighter futures for young care leavers. Together, we’ve introduced a Supported Lodgings service that provides young people with a safe and nurturing environment. This enables young people to focus on their education, training or stability during application processes, and prepare for their lives as independent adults.
This initiative connects young care leavers with paid volunteer host families, who are known as ‘Supported Lodgings Providers’.
SLPs provide a spare room in a safe and welcoming home. Young people normally stay with their SLP for at least six months, and most young people successfully transition to independent living within a year.
The role of SLP involves:
- Offering the young person their own bedroom and shared access to their household facilities.
- Helping them to develop the necessary skills for living independently by providing them with practical support and guidance with household tasks and responsibilities. For example, helping a young person to learn some basic cooking skills or encouraging them to apply for their first job.
- Giving basic emotional support by being a listening ear and providing encouragement and advice.
- Collaborating with the Depaul UK team of professionals to ensure holistic support for the young person.
The young people accessing this service are 16-17 years old, have previously been in care, and may be at risk of homelessness. They may also be unaccompanied asylum-seekers. They are in need of stability and support to take their next steps towards safe and happy adult lives.
Every young person is matched with a host family by our experienced team. The prospective host family meets the young person several times before any placement is confirmed. During these meetings, the young person and host family’s compatibility is assessed, with the Supported Lodgings Team taking input from everybody involved to make an appropriate decision regarding the placement’s viability.
SLPs benefit from:
- Comprehensive training and ongoing professional support.
- Regular contact with a dedicated Supported Lodgings Coordinator.
- Weekly rental payments and expenses to cover all costs
- Access to a peer support network comprised of other hosts.
- 24-hour on-call assistance for advice and emergencies.
- The opportunity to make a profound difference in a young person’s life.
More information about becoming a SLP can be found on the Depaul website.
For enquiries, please do reach out via email or phone:
- Email: supportedlodgings.cwc@depaulcharity.org.uk
- Phone: 0161 507 3414