YMCA DownsLink Group

Author: Anthony Irtelli

  • The Bridge in Guildford sold to a student accommodation provider

    The Bridge in Guildford sold to a student accommodation provider

    The Bridge, one of Guildford’s best-known buildings, opened in 1989 as a YMCA hostel for young people. Since 2016 the building has been providing student accommodation as YMCA DLG provision for young people facing homelessness was moved to a purpose built 34 room ‘Foyer’ in Wharf Rd. As part of our long-term strategy to refocus on our core mission of providing services for young people at risk, we have decided to sell the building to one of the UK’s leading providers of student accommodation. Proceeds from the sale of the building will be reinvested into supporting our core mission of transforming the lives of vulnerable young people.

    Speaking about the sale, Chas Walker CEO YMCA DownsLink Group said: “We’re delighted to have found a dedicated student accommodation provider to take on The Bridge as the student numbers continue to increase in the city. This decision means we will be able to focus solely on our core mission to provide support to marginalised young people in the city who need support with their mental health or housing.”

    We understand that student accommodation is increasingly a specialist service and as such would be better suited to a dedicated student housing provider. Under its new ownership, The Bridge will continue to provide high quality accommodation for students in the city. Owned by M.F.Stawson Limited it will be operated day to day by Homes for Students (HfS), one of the UK’s leading providers of student accommodation. With 39,000 rooms under management in 51 towns and cities across the UK, HfS have an excellent track record and take pride in the fact that many of their student residents choose to return to them year after year. The Bridge staff will be transferring to HfS.

    Homes for Students Chief Operating Officer Kate Forester adds, “We are delighted to have been chosen to manage this iconic property in Guildford which will continue to offer high quality homes away from home for hundreds of students for many years to come. We know that studying away from home requires a safe and vibrant environment to help nurture education and create life-long memories. Our experienced teams, and the great on-site facilities help make this transition as easy as possible and provide the very best student experience.”

    YMCA Downslink Group was created in 2014 with the merger of Guildford YMCA and Sussex Central YMCA. We now operate across Sussex and Surrey and provide over 750 young people with a safe place to live, and a pathway to independence, every night. The YMCA has a proud history in Guildford so we are glad to continue working in the town providing 24 hour supported accommodation to young people in need. Since 2017 the purpose-built supported accommodation at Wharf Rd has provided support to over 200 young people.

     

  • We’re celebrating National Volunteers Week 2022

    We’re celebrating National Volunteers Week 2022

    It’s Volunteers Week 2022, so we wanted to take the time to thank and recognise all of our  volunteers here at YMCA DownsLink Group! We currently have 140 volunteers working with us across the organisation. Our volunteers provide support to a number of our projects and make a huge difference to the lives of the young people we support, from Chaplaincy, to our Youth Advice Centre,  to all of our volunteers now and over the years THANK YOU! Hear what our volunteers had to say below:

    “I am learning so much by volunteering at YAC! I am grateful for the training opportunities and well-supported environment which allows me to confidently give advice to young people.” Volunteer, Youth Advice Centre

    “Volunteering with Positive Placements has helped me to learn some new skills and to build my confidence.” Mentor, Positive Placements

    “It’s absolutely great having a mentor. You know you’ve got someone next to you, supporting you and it’s not just you by yourself. It’s nice to have someone who wants to help me because I don’t have much support.” Mentee, Positive Placements

    If you would like to volunteer with us at YMCA DownsLink Group, please see the volunteering positions we have available below:

    Volunteer Chaplains Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Gardening Volunteers Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Engagement Volunteers Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Audit and Risk Committee Member Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Youth Advice Centre Reception and Administration Volunteer Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Youth Advice Centre Private Rented Advice Volunteer Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Youth Advice Centre Food Market Volunteer Closing Date: 30th June 2022

    Volunteer Counsellors Closing Date: 31st July 2022

    We would like to end this article with another huge thank you and leave you on a quote from Oscar Wilde, “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention”.

  • We celebrate her Majesty the Queen on her Platinum Jubilee

    We celebrate her Majesty the Queen on her Platinum Jubilee

    As we get ready to celebrate 70 years of her Majesty the Queen on the throne, we reflect on how immensely proud we are to have the Queen as our Patron of the National Council of YMCAs. Running parallel to her Platinum Jubilee, this year also marks the 70th anniversary of her Majesty as our YMCA Patron. To commemorate the Platinum Jubilee we wanted to share with you the history of YMCA and the Royal Family.

    YMCA and the Royal Family

    • 1894: YMCA’s Founder Sir George Williams is knighted by Queen Victoria in her Birthday Honours, YMCA’s silver jubilee year, as well as receiving the Freedom of the City of London
    • 1905: following his death, Sir George Williams is commemorated by a stained-glass window in the nave of Westminster Abbey
    • 1910: King George V grants Royal Patronage to YMCA
    • 1936: King Edward VIII succeeds the throne and inherits Royal Patronage
    • 1936: after King Edward VIII’s abdication, King George VI succeeds the throne and inherits Royal Patronage
    • 1952: Queen Elizabeth II succeeds the throne and inherits Royal Patronage
    • 1968: The Queen Mother opens Stockton YMCA
    • 1969: The Queen Mother opens YMCA South Devon
    • 1978: Prince Phillip opens Redditch YMCA
    • 1982: Queen Elizabeth II attends a service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate YMCA’s 150th anniversary

    YMCA has received an annual gift from the Privy Purse for almost 40 years

    YMCA and Queen Elizabeth II

    All photos are courtesy of YMCA Archive, Cadbury Research Library and University of Birmingham.

    We leave you with a quote from her Majesty:

    “It is far from easy to be cheerful and constructive when things around us suggest the opposite,” she said. “But to give up the effort would mean, as it were, to switch off hope for a better tomorrow. Even if the problems seem overwhelming, there is always room for optimism.”

    Her Majesty the Queen

  • How the Chelsea Flower Show is inspiring residents

    How the Chelsea Flower Show is inspiring residents

    Whether you’re a gardening fanatic or a complete novice, we’re sure you’ve heard of the Royal Chelsea Flower Show which starts this week! House Beautiful says “This year’s theme is ‘a return to the wild’ as gardens teeming with native plants that benefit wildlife will take centre stage at the 2022 show. Blossoming hedgerows, lush woodland and wildflower meadows will give RHS Chelsea its most naturalistic feel in recent years.”. This has particularly inspired us at YMCA DownsLink Group, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to tell you about some gardening projects of our own and how you can get involved too.

    Hear some of our residents gardening stories

    One of our residents who lives in one of our transitional housing flats and decided to do some work in the garden over the Covid-19 lockdown, which gave him a new focus and made his flat feel like a home. As a bonus, his elderly neighbour also had something pleasant to look at. She was very impressed with Laurence’s hard work, she loves to look at the garden and Laurence has said he wants to start helping her with her part of the garden too.

    Additionally our Horsham Y Centre Garden has been set up to give residents a chance to grow their own food and learn valuable skills in the process. The garden has been a great success so far giving the residents a chance to learn how to grow potatoes, tomatoes, peas and a range of other vegetables. We have also received a generous donation of £200 which will go to developing the garden further and buying new garden tools.

    Could you help?

    We are now on a mission to improve our overgrown garden spaces in our high support accommodation projects (they have huge potential). We have residents who are very interested in animals, composting and gardening and believe giving them the opportunity to develop this garden space will be integral to their mental health and wellbeing.

    We are looking for volunteers, donations or funding for the following:

    • Manpower – We are looking for anyone who would be willing to come and support us with tasks such as digging fresh borders, strimming, pruning, weeding etc.
    • Donations
      • If you have any spare or old gardening tools this will enable us to have cultivate herb gardens and flower beds with our residents.
      • Any spare or old garden furniture (tables, chairs, benches, etc.). Or old aesthetics/decorative items, such as solar lights, fairly lights, garden gnomes, we aren’t fussy and would be extremely grateful.
      • Finally topsoil, compost, seeds, pots and any other spare gardening utilities.
    • Brainpower – If you are a keen gardener and have a working or professional knowledge of gardening and can spare your brainpower for a few hours we would love to chat with you and get your thoughts on what and how we can improve the gardens and give us a basic idea of how to maintain certain aspects of the gardens so that once they are looking great, we can keep them looking as nice as possible for as long as possible.

    Summer is almost here and our goal is to make the spaces feel like our residents garden again, so they want to use it and so that we can arrange more outdoor activities and sessions in a much nicer and “homey” garden space over summer. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article if you’re a keen gardener like us, and if you would like to help support any of our projects with any of the list above please contact [email protected]

  • 5 ways to get involved with National Conversation Week

    5 ways to get involved with National Conversation Week

    It’s National Conversation Week here in the UK and at YMCA DownsLink Group we’re encouraging the young people we support and staff alike to engage in conversation, who knows what they’ll discover. The founders of National Conversation Week say:

    “Whether it’s questions about our health, our finances, politics, or any other subject, we think people should ask more questions – and most importantly, we should tackle the widespread fear around asking what they deem to be ‘silly questions’”.

    Talking, particularly around how you’re feeling, can help with your mental health and dealing with times when you feel troubled, which is one of the reasons why we offer a Chaplaincy service. The Chaplains work in teams and spend time with the residents in their projects, cooking with them, chatting, playing board games, and generally just being a listening ear when they need it..

    National Conversation Week is all about the simple, pleasurable, and rewarding art of simply talking to each other. So, if you’re ready to start the conversation, here are five ways you could get involved:

    1. Ask the next person you speak to today to share something that’s made them smile today, we’re sure it’ll brighten up your day.
    2. Post on social media asking an engaging question to your followers, you might be surprised by the answer.
    3. Change a Zoom meeting to be face to face (Covid permitting, in line with current government guidance).
    4. Have an evening free from TV and see if it generates more conversation with the people you live with or if you live on your own phone someone.
    5. Finally, stop reading this article and phone or facetime a friend or family member you haven’t spoken to in a while. Why not ask what they’ve been up to since you last spoke?

    We hope this article sparks some conversations in your life, YMCA DownsLink Group supports talking and believe it’s key to improving our mental health, particularly in a time where a lot of our lives are online.

    Do you have any conversation starters? Contact us and let us know or join in the conversation on social media @ymcadlg.

  • The YMCA DownsLink Challenge is back for 2022!

    The YMCA DownsLink Challenge is back for 2022!

    The DownsLink Challenge is back by popular demand! Take on the 17.5-mile walk along the Downs Link Pathway (which is what we’re named after!) from Horsham to Shoreham-by-Sea and help us put young people experiencing homelessness back on the path to independence.

    What we do:

    We prevent youth homelessness through accommodation, support and advice. Every night we provide a safe home to over 750 young people in your community.

    Each and every one has faced serious challenges in their lives. No young person chooses to be homeless.

    Why take part in the DownsLink Challenge?

    Do it alone or in a group, we guarantee you’ll have a great day all in aid of ending youth homelessness by helping us ensure all young people living with us or being supported by us move on positively and independently, forever.

    After another challenging year for so many, this is a great opportunity to get your family, friends or colleagues together and boost your mental health and wellbeing out in stunning countryside.

    To find out more and secure your place, click here.