Hertfordshire – Herts Young Homeless (hyh) is celebrating today after being awarded a significant £490,000 grant from The National Lottery Community Fund to prevent homelessness by supporting hundreds of young people through family mediation.
The funding, made possible thanks to National Lottery players, will allow the charity to deliver its specialized family mediation work over the next four years. This service plays a critical role in tackling relationship breakdown—the leading cause of youth homelessness—by supporting young people aged 10–24 and their families to resolve conflicts, improve communication, and stay safely together wherever possible.
Herts Young Homeless has been supporting vulnerable young people across Hertfordshire since 1998. This new £490,000 investment provides a massive boost to the local community, ensuring that families facing crisis can access free, expert mediation before situations escalate to the point of a young person being forced to leave home.
Jonny Whitehead, CEO of Herts Young Homeless said "We are absolutely thrilled to receive this £490,000 investment thanks to National Lottery players. Relationship breakdown is the single biggest cause of youth homelessness, and this grant will be truly life-changing for hundreds of young people. It allows us to intervene early, mend fractured family bonds, and ultimately prevent young people from facing the trauma of homelessness."