Roundabout is delighted to announce that it has secured £455,306 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, providing vital support for the charity’s work to prevent youth homelessness across South Yorkshire over the next five years.

The funding will enable Roundabout to fund its Peer Education, Homelessness Prevention and Crisis Intervention services, reaching thousands more young people in Sheffield, Rotherham and surrounding communities.

As South Yorkshire’s leading youth homelessness charity, Roundabout works with vulnerable young people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or experiencing family relationship breakdown.

The new funding will help the charity strengthen its preventative work, ensuring more young people can access support before they reach crisis point.

Expanding Homelessness Prevention Services for young people

A significant part of the funding will be invested in Roundabout’s Homelessness Prevention Service, which supports young people and families experiencing conflict and relationship breakdown.

The service provides advice, mediation and practical support aimed at helping families rebuild relationships and avoid situations that can lead to homelessness.

Roundabout Chief Executive Ben Keegan said: “Through a combination of preventative measures and crisis intervention, this vital funding will bridge the gap between immediate survival and long-term stability, ensuring young people never have to call the streets home.”

Supporting young people through Peer Education

The funding will also expand Roundabout’s innovative Peer Education programme.

Delivered by trained volunteers with lived experience of homelessness, the programme works with schools and colleges to challenge misconceptions about homelessness, educate young people about the causes of homelessness and signpost them to local support services.

Over the next five years, the funding will support 50 Peer Educators and help Roundabout provide enhanced support to more than 15,000 students.

By sharing real-life experiences, Peer Educators help young people better understand the challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness while encouraging early intervention when support is needed.

Three of our Peer Educators, Charlie, Lydia and Amber outside our HPS.

Increased crisis support for young people facing homelessness

The investment will also strengthen Roundabout’s Crisis Intervention services, enabling the charity to provide emergency housing advice and support to around 2,500 young people.

This work is crucial in helping young people access safe accommodation, understand their housing options and receive support at some of the most difficult moments in their lives.

Thank you to The National Lottery Community Fund

Roundabout would like to thank The National Lottery Community Fund for making this investment possible.

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes more than £600 million each year through over 13,000 grants and plans to invest more than £4 billion into communities across the UK by 2030.

Their support helps charities and community organisations deliver life-changing projects that strengthen communities and improve lives.

This funding will allow Roundabout to reach more young people and families than ever before, providing the support, education and intervention needed to prevent homelessness and build brighter futures across South Yorkshire.

Find out more about Homeless Prevention Service or read some of our young people’s stories.