Doncaster MP visits local housing charity following funding success

Dame Rosie Winterton, MP for Doncaster Central, visited Doncaster Housing for Young People (DHYP) to celebrate their recent funding award.

The charity has been awarded five years of funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, totalling £310,696.

As patron of the charity, Dame Rosie spoke with DHYP Chief Executive Stuart Shore, Client Services Manager Aimee Mckenzie and Project Worker Andrew Hope to find out what opportunities the funding would provide.

DHYP was founded 30 years ago with the aim to support young people with housing.

Today, the charity can also assist with mental health support, training and skills, employment and personal development.

While many of its clients come from referrals from services such as the council, social services and CAMHS, anyone aged 16-25 can approach the charity for assistance.

Dame Rosie also met with Olivia Smith and Libby Green, past clients of DHYP who now volunteer with the service.

They gave first-hand accounts of how the service has assisted them.

Dame Rosie said, “I am very pleased to hear that DHYP, which does fantastic work for young people in Doncaster, has been allocated funding for the next five years which will allow them to make longer term planning decisions.

“DHYP provides a range of services and I would encourage anyone between age 16-25 to seek them out as their trained staff cover a range of issues and may be able to help you.

“I would also encourage any local businesses who are finding themselves understaffed to contact DHYP, who work with several hundred young people each year and assist them in getting into work – it may be that DHYP can match clients to some of the available jobs.”

Stuart Shore, Chief Executive, said: “It was very good to have Dame Rosie visit our offices. As our Patron, it was useful to look over with her the work we have undertaken in the last year and to discuss how we are planning to spend the National Lottery Community Fund allocation to expand and strengthen our services.”

To find out more about the charity’s services, visit Doncaster Housing for Young People (DHYP) | DHYP