The Sorrey Loft is an organization that helps young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. We offer support, advice, and training to help them make positive changes to their lives. We also aim to raise awareness throughout society of young people’s experiences of homelessness.
The Sorrey Loft was born out of the realization that people who work with children and young people often see symptoms of homelessness sooner than their clients’ parents do. Voluntary sector organizations working in this field began to realize how much staff morale was affected by seeing so many cases where they felt their advice had been inadequate; where they knew asking for help made things worse; where they had to turn away children knowing that their chances of survival were slim. The time had come for a new approach that would put the child’s needs first while staying within social services budget constraints, an approach that would allow managers to say ‘yes’ more often.
Sorrey Loft’s approach is unique in that it ensures the young person gets the right help at the right time. We try not to duplicate effort or undermine services already in place but work closely with existing providers to ensure everyone involved agrees on what needs doing and when. Our aim is for no young person ever to feel they are being passed from pillar to post because somewhere along the line, someone wasn’t willing to make a decision.
Provide access to an extensive range of services that can be tailored specifically to each young person; act as an advocate for them; provide logistical support; raise awareness in education residences and businesses about their specific needs; offer training courses that will improve their chances of employment – all of these things can contribute towards a brighter future for these young people.
In addition to the work we do with children and young people themselves, Sorrey Loft also seeks to address the issue amongst staff working in the field by emphasizing a more child-centered approach. Being aware that adults working with at-risk groups have different needs from those they serve, we have put together a series of training courses that will help improve their health and wellbeing while increasing their job satisfaction. In addition, because clients’ parents often feel isolated, we seek opportunities to get them involved in campaigns aimed at improving services from their perspective.
A result is a holistic approach where everyone has time to think about what is best for each individual child or young person; an approach which means the child’s right to an education, their health and wellbeing, their safety, and sense of belonging is taken more seriously than ever before.
Sorrey Loft believes that with the right approach, every young person has the potential to achieve great things. We give them a chance where they would otherwise have no outlet for help; we provide some stability in what would otherwise be a chaotic environment; we allow them – through our efforts alongside theirs – to reclaim control of their lives.