A Cumbrian charity is helping homeless youngsters to gain the training and confidence they need to get a job thanks to a £3,000 grant from Newcastle Building Society.
Carlisle Key provides assistance and support for young people aged 16 to 25 and aims to give them the knowledge, support and confidence they need to go on and live independently.
Part of its work involves helping its service users develop the personal skills and knowledge they need to find and keep a job, as well as helping to break down the barriers that are stopping them from doing so.
The grant will now help Carlisle Key extend its work in this area, with tailored support being provided to each young person to help them achieve their employment goals.
Deborah Earl, chief executive officer at Carlisle Key, said: “We work with young people from all sorts of backgrounds who are facing a wide range of different, often complex issues and aim to give them the support, guidance and advice they need to make positive progress.
“Part of living independently is being able to pay your way, which means finding and keeping a job, but many of the young people we work with aren’t in a position to even begin to look for one when they first come to us.
“The difference that this support makes to them as people is often transformative, and it’s amazing to see the difference in their confidence between when we first meet them and when they leave us.
The funding has been provided through the Newcastle Building Society Community Fund at the Community Foundation, which offers grants to charities and community groups located in or around the communities served by the Society’s branch network.
The Society is a long-term supporter of Carlisle Key’s work, with a £2,537 grant given last year enabling it to provide welcome packs for service users who don’t have the essential basic items they need to start living independently.
Carlisle Key works with young people from across Carlisle and Cumbria and runs a drop-in centre on Fisher Street in Carlisle as well as an 11-bed supported accommodation unit in the city centre.
It has helped around 275 young people in the last year, and has also previously used the Society’s English Street branch’s community space as a neutral location for meetings with some of its service users.
