Special Funding Initiative
Preventing youth homelessness for young women subjected to actual or witnessed abuse
From our funding of projects in the youth homelessness sector, and consultations with organisations working this field, the Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Wates Foundation have become increasingly aware of key times of transition that increase the risk of young people becoming homeless. Such transitions include leaving school, leaving care, moving out of the family home or breakdown of family support, leaving prison, religious transitions and moving on from existing homeless services. This becomes even more pertinent a challenge for young women between the ages of 15-25 years who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing violence, abuse or control and have transitioned into homelessness as a result.
The Sir Halley Stewart Trust and the Wates Foundation are therefore inviting funding applications for new practice projects focussed on the prevention of homelessness in young women who have suffered from, or witnessed, abuse and the transition into homelessness as a result. These projects must have three clear strands:
- A practical service delivery project adopting a gender and psychologically-informed approach
- A strong independent evaluation element
- A powerful dissemination plan
Please note the funders are keen to encourage collaborations in the sector and applicants will be expected to demonstrate their understanding of the current research and resource environment around this topic.
Eligible projects will:
- Be delivered through a collaboration between a service delivery organisation and an organisation that has expertise in evaluation
- Focus on young women within the range of 15 to 25 years of age
- Adopt psychologically-informed practice. (See pielink.net for example)
- Demonstrate use of key research findings and practice recommendations (see, for example, Useful Research)
- Be submitted as a collaborative project, led by a UK charitable organisation, with an annual income of £3m or under and supported by an evaluation partner which can come from a larger organisation, including a university. We also expect to see clear evidence of beneficiary involvement in planning, carrying out and evaluating the project.
- Begin after the 31 March 2023 and before 1 July 2023 – please note that funding will not be provided for retrospective work or projects that are part-way through delivery.
The funding available will be based on a maximum grant size of £80,000 over two years (with a £40,000 per annum maximum).
Applicants also have to meet the funders’ usual criteria and priorities shown on their websites here and here. Please note that both funders are over-subscribed and have competitive assessment processes, so meeting the criteria is not a guarantee of being awarded funding.
The deadline for applications is Monday 31st October 2022, with funding decisions due to be made by the end of March. Applications must be made using the Sir Halley Stewart Trust’s project-specific online application form, which can be accessed here.
If you have any queries regarding this funding programme, please contact the Sir Halley Stewart Trust’s Interim Director, Elizabeth Fathi, at director@sirhalleystewart.org.uk.