Friends First is a charity that aims to equip and empower people who are homeless, socially isolated or long-term unemployed, into supported training/ employment/ education and housing. The Charity began in the early 1990’s, with a group of volunteers delivering soup and sandwiches to men and women who were sleeping on the streets of Brighton. The project quickly developed into a weekly drop-in at a local church building. In 2002 Friends First became a registered charity and started running a Supported House which offered a therapeutic community model for its residents all who had been previously homeless, or experiencing social isolation.
We are delighted to be able to share with you highlights of our journey of success achieved in 2018/19. Over the past year we have supported 32 trainees to become work-ready and 16 are in full or part time employment. Within the last few months we have seen 9 of our trainees graduate from the programme.
Friends First offer a unique opportunity to those in need of a ‘hand up’ who are motivated and willing to work hard in order to achieve lasting, positive change in their lives. Each trainee has open access to Friends First support, on average engaging with us for 6.4 months. For those who would have struggled to start work because of temporary housing, we provide low-cost, supported accommodation for up to two years. This enables referrals to fully engage with the next stage of their lives, working towards a more stable and successful future.
Due to the success of trainees graduating, it has enabled us to take on new referrals and hope to be able to offer them places within our GP house. We are actively seeking to fill our accommodation, offering the support our trainees may wish to take up. This year we aim to work with between 30 - 40 people.
Enjoy our video.