As part of the National Supported Lodgings Week Parliamentary Reception, our very own David Trotter was invited to Parliament on 10th of November to represent 3 Bridge Solution.

David was accompanied by Jay, one of our young people currently within the 3 Bridge Solution Supported Lodgings programme.

Jay gave an interview to the organisers, The National Supported Lodgings Network where he talked about his positive experience about being with his hosts.

We are thrilled to announce that Alex Allan has won the Best Employee of the Year at the 2025 Sussex Business Conference & Awards.

The Sussex Business Conference and Awards were held on Thursday, October 9th.

The reason why we nominated Alex Allan

Alex’s role as a Progression Coach supporting young people in Supported Lodgings has gone far beyond the expectations of her position. She has a remarkable natural ability to build strong, professional, and trusting relationships with the young people she works with, many of whom have been previously hesitant or resistant to receiving support.

Alex consistently demonstrates outstanding flexibility in meeting the individual needs of each young person, playing a pivotal role in their journey from initial placement through to moving on. Her dedication has directly contributed to transforming lives, offering stability, encouragement, and practical guidance every step of the way.

One particularly powerful example of her impact involves a young person who had been experiencing homelessness and was living on the streets prior to moving into Supported Lodgings with 3 Bridge Solution CIC. The young person had struggled with dysregulation and displayed challenging behaviour, having previously disengaged from support and found it difficult to build trust with professionals. From the outset, Alex worked with patience, consistency, and empathy – quickly forming a meaningful connection alongside the Supported Lodgings Host. Through her steady and trauma-informed approach, she built a strong foundation of trust and support, helping the young person develop a daily routine, improve their self-care, and learn how to stay safe and make positive choices. As a result of this sustained support, the young person recently began their first part-time job and is now preparing to start college, ready to take their next steps into independent living.

Alex’s commitment to young people often extends well beyond standard working hours. She is known for checking in during evenings and weekends, and even on her days off, to ensure that the young people she supports feel secure and heard. Her responsiveness and unwavering presence during moments of crisis or uncertainty have made a significant difference in the lives of the young people she works with.

Beyond her direct work with young people, Alex has also played a vital role in supporting new colleagues, offering shadowing opportunities and setting a high standard through her calm, confident, and welcoming approach. She leads by example, helping to foster a culture of compassion, consistency, and professionalism within the team.

Alex’s ongoing commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for young people is exceptional. She continues to nurture and maintain excellent working relationships with Supported Lodgings Hosts and Social Workers, strengthening the wider network of care around each individual.

We are incredibly grateful to have Alex as part of our Progression Coach team. Her work is not only impactful, it is truly inspiring, and she is a highly deserving nominee for this award.

More Photos From The Event

3 Bridge Solution CIC supports Mental Health Awareness week 2025. Please click the link below to hear what people wish they knew when they were young people; a real insight into the impact of mental health and how we can all help ourselves and others.

3 Bridge Solution CIC supports Mental Health Awareness Week 2025

Mental Health Awareness Week 2025

Mental Health Awareness Week runs from Monday 12th May – Sunday 18th May.

When thinking about what to write in this Blog, I originally thought I would simply mention it is Mental Health Awareness Week, copy in a few links and signpost readers to other sites specialising in Mental Health. (which I will do anyway)

Before I got started however, I checked on our Host recruitment advert, running on Facebook, to see how the ad was doing and see if there was any comments or enquiries requiring a response. Amongst the genuine questions and enquiries, and amongst the usual (sad) negative comments about young people, asylum seekers and homelessness that I delete every morning (!!) was another negative comment that stood out; it went something like this:

“I don’t want some mental teenager in my house, grunting when I speak to them, staring at a screen, locking themself away in their room, no job, lazy”……….it went further, but you get the gist.

I deleted it, as I do when I see any stereotypical negative comment on our ad feed, but it really got me thinking, especially as it’s Mental Health Awareness Week. Everything I see and hear about managing mental health is about reaching out to someone you haven’t spoken with in while, it’s about using social media less, about doing something active, spending time with other people, doing something meaningful, getting active……..

Perhaps the young person who needs help, needs support, and would most benefit from Supported Lodgings is the young person who is currently lacking the confidence to engage in conversation, who finds ‘friends’ online as it is difficult in the real world, who needs encouragement to become more social, needs guidance to find their way in life.

So, thank you to the detractor who commented on our Host recruitment advert, you just reminded me of why it is so important to positively engage with people, even the ones we do not know, as we don’t know their story, we don’t know how they are feeling, and the stereotype is rarely accurate.

If you or someone you know is feeling a little low, or not spoken with someone for a while, get up, call a friend, go for a walk in a park, grab a coffee and have a chat…..it’s amazing how much difference it can make.

If you would like to more about becoming a Host, please see https://3bridgesolution.com/hosts/

For more on Mental Health: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/

Interested in Youth Mental Health: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/

Be a Hero – Offer Hope – and Host

Where did 2024 go? Where did January 2025 go? It’s mid-February, and our last blog was wishing everyone ‘Merry Christmas’! 🎄

To be fair, we have been busy…..and 3 Bridge Solution CIC goes from strength to strength.

Summarising 2024: Slow start, frustrating Spring time, exciting Summer and an outstanding Autumn, leading nicely on to that very Merry Christmas, that only feels like yesterday.

Anyone who has read previous Blogs, will know 3 Bridge Solution CIC only really got going in the Summer of 2024, after receiving our Ofsted Certificate. And whilst those frustrating delays did (understandably) result in us losing some of our Hosts along the way, many more stayed with us, and several more are now joining us.

We also successfully supported several young people in moving in with our Hosts, and continue to support them  towards independence and positive outcomes.

And speaking of outcomes:

Following placements with our Hosts, two of our young people successfully moved on to University, where both are doing well. We also supported the return home, of another two young people, following short-term respite  placements, where 3 Bridge Solution, our Hosts and Social Services worked together with the young people and their families to alleviate the problems they were experiencing.

All the the other placements are ongoing, and our Hosts and staff are doing amazing work with those young people.

The outcomes for the young people placed with 3 Bridge Solution CIC can be varied, and we know that some placements will not be quite as successful as those mentioned here.  We know not all young people will fully embrace  the support provided by our Hosts, and not all will show their appreciation during, or even shortly after their placement.

However, we also know, that offering a young person a chance, showing them compassion, empathy and respect, provides them with an opportunity they may never been given before, and possibly, for the first time in their lives, gives them hope.

Can you Be a Hero – Offer Hope – And Host?

Did you know that in 2022-23 (April – March), 135,800 young people were recorded as either homeless or at risk of homelessness in the UK? How many more went unrecorded?

Did you know that 54% of the 135,800 recorded cases, the cause of homelessness was a breakdown in relationship with family or friends?

Did you know that 20% of care leavers experience homelessness within 2 years of leaving care?

Did you know that the estimated cost of a single person sleeping rough on the streets in the UK for 12 months is £20,128? Imagine the costs over a prolonged period of time.

3 Bridge Solution can’t help every young person we meet – as much as we want to – and it is heart breaking. That’s why we need to grow, we need to recruit more Hosts, we need to raise more funds, so we can help more young people.

We believe investing in prevention, investing in supportive services, investing in helping young people to help themselves. We believe that investment will reduce the numbers presenting as homeless, reduce the number of care leavers facing homelessness and as a by product, reduce the costs of managing homelessness and subsequently helping the economy.

It won’t all change overnight, we might not see the results immediately, but, every day at 3 Bridge Solution CIC, we witness the positive impact of safely housing and supporting young people. Whether it be by maintaining education or a job, building new relationships or restoring fractured ones, the positive impact is demonstrable.

Be a Hero – Offer Hope – And Host

*All statistics provided by LandAid https://www.landaid.org/our-impact/why-end-youth-homelessness/key-homelessness-statistics/