“We will use this grant over a 3-year period to fund staff and services to improve the well-being of our residents, including 3 personal development coaches and a significant resident activities budget to help their young people belong, contribute and thrive.”

Youth social housing provider and independent homeless charity, YMCA Milton Keynes, is celebrating today after being awarded £498,849 in National Lottery funding to support its work with local young people. The charity will use the cash over a 3-year period to fund staff and services to improve the well-being of its residents, including 3 personal development coaches and a significant resident activities budget to help their young people belong, contribute and thrive.

YMCA Milton Keynes has helped over 10,000 young people since it opened its doors in 1981. The charity’s current site is cramped and no longer fit for purpose, so it has embarked on an ambitious journey to build a new £19M campus to provide supported housing to young people in Milton Keynes. YMCA Milton Keynes’ new campus, which is due to open early in the new year, will give 199 young people access to affordable accommodation, a dedicated pathway of support, including training and employment opportunities, well-being services and a number of social enterprises, including a café and a nursery that will provide its residents with work experience and employment opportunities.

The National Lottery grant will focus on supporting 225 young people over a 3-year period with mental and physical health, employment, education and training giving them access to a sustainable future.

Each outcome will be tracked through monitoring mechanisms and short and long-term outcomes. This will show how the services delivered contribute to a chain of results leading to the intended outcomes.

Simon Green, CEO of YMCA Milton Keynes, says:

“We’re delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way. Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to press on with our plans to broaden the range of support and opportunities available to young people here in Milton Keynes. This grant is vital as it enables us to deliver the dedicated support, activities and training needed to enable our young people to achieve their full potential.”

Find out more about YMCA Milton Keynes by following this link