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/

It took a while, but all good things come to those who wait…….

Our Ofsted Certificate has arrived 🥳🥳. We’ve had the URN for some time now, but the absence of that elusive certificate was like a cloud of doubt cast over every conversation we had with our partners. And now, the sun is shining 😁

Maintaining a positive outlook, believing in ourselves, always wanting to improve, learning from mistakes – ours and others – and celebrating our success has kept us going through the challenging times.

We aim to use this experience for good. Passing on our learning is just one of the many ways we can help young people navigate the challenges of developing their independence and making the right choices.

It’s not easy being patient and having to prove yourself to others to get to where you want to be in life, it can take a while…but all good things come to those who wait…..

Welcome to our first ‘Blog’ : )

So much happening at 3 Bridge Solution CIC, but we’ll say on topic….we are in the middle of another Host recruitment campaign, and WOW! What a campaign it has been so far.

As week two of the campaign draws to a close, we have received over 20 enquiries from potential Hosts; it never ceases to amaze me how many wonderful, caring people there are out there, interested in hearing more about what we do.

There are of course the usual negative comments on our Facebook page about our campaign, but as always, those comments are drowned out by the positives and ‘hey’, it’s all free advertising to us 🙂

Our amazing Hosts are doing an incredible thing, not only housing a young person, but providing them with a nurturing, caring environment – whilst they can never replace a parent, they are providing the next best thing to a parental home, and long may that continue.

We cannot thank our Hosts enough, they really are Hero’s.

Be a Hero – Offer Hope – And Host