Sussex charity asks can you help change a young person’s future this Christmas?

This time last year Mapalo was living in YMCA DownsLink Group supported accommodation after being made homeless at 18. This year she’s completing her first year at university, studying to be a midwife. Thanks to the care and support she received from the dedicated staff at YMCA DownsLink Group, alongside her own hard work and determination, Mapalo is following her dream of becoming a midwife. This year, due to the cost-of-living crisis, and the shocking rise in the number of people presenting as homeless, the charity need your help more than ever. It recently launched its Christmas Fundraising Appeal so that it can continue to give more young people, like Mapalo, the opportunity to build a brighter future.

YMCA DownsLink Group is the largest charity supporting vulnerable children and young people across Sussex and Surry. Every night they provide a safe home to over 650 children and young people at risk of homelessness, some as young as 16. But, more than just a home, by stepping in at this crucial age, they give them a second chance and a future to look forward to.

The charity provides wraparound support so that the residents can overcome whatever trauma and challenges they’ve faced in their young lives. Every young person has a dedicated project worker, who gets to know them individually, so they can get them the emotional or mental health support they might need, alongside helping them develop basic life skills (many of us with supportive families might take for granted), such as cooking, cleaning or budgeting. Most importantly, they encourage them back into education, training or employment so that they can start to imagine, and build, an independent future.

Someone like Ben. Earlier this year, Ben got in touch with the charity to share how his experience at YMCA DownsLink Group changed his life.

“I had such a difficult childhood, years of being abused as a kid. When I went to school, I was a bit all over the place, getting excluded and being in trouble a lot. My mum couldn’t cope, so she kicked me out at 15. I found myself stuck in adult accommodation. It was horrible, with walls crumbing around me and people screaming every day. It was such a scary place to be. I was in such a dark place. I couldn’t see happiness and thought there was no hope.

But I consider myself lucky. I had two teachers who rang the hostel every day saying, “he can’t stay here, it’s horrible”. I’m so fortunate that they kept going and I got moved into 24 hour accommodation with YMCA DownsLink Group. YMCA DownsLink Group gave me a nice home to live in and a safe space. They looked after me, helped me get a job when I was 16 as a kitchen porter. I then moved on to cheffing, working in hotels here and in France, which was incredible!

Fifteen years on, I’m a qualified chef, with my own home, living happily in Sussex. I am forever grateful to the YMCA DownsLink Group and to everyone who make it possible for young people like me to move on in life.”

If you would like to make a difference to the lives of children and young people in your community, like Mapalo or Ben, visit YMCA DownsLink Group’s Christmas Appeal.