Whitehaven Community Trust continue to support homeless youths

Founded in 1987, the Trust offers community projects within Whitehaven, with a particular emphasis on the plight of young homeless individuals.

Since initiating its youth hostels provision in 1997, the Trust has provided refuge and support for over 1600 homeless people aged between 16 and 25.

The facilities, which include two hostels and nine flats, offer much more than respite from the streets. They have provided a framework of guidance and accountability, helping often chaotic lives regain structure and direction.

In addition to its hostel services, the Whitehaven Community Trust also operates the Senhouse Centre, a versatile space that local businesses can hire for commercial use.

The Senhouse Centre (Image: Whitehaven Community Trust)

The Trust equally hosts a variety of public workshops at the Centre, covering important social topics such as mental health and menopause, a testament to the organisation's commitment to inclusivity and the welfare of the wider community.

Despite its humble size, the charity continues to find funds to support its essential service, with Chief Executive Officer Kerry Maxwell O.B.E and her Deputy Manager Kimberley Andrews reaching out to organisations for grants and running costs. They have had many supporters over the years and hope to get new interests to keep up with rising costs.

Without Whitehaven Community Trust, a lot of the young people would be moved out of the county as there are very few places like this in our area. Whitehaven Community Trust said: "Although you may think that a homeless hostel is for those that are criminals, drug users and generally bad people, this is not the case, to be homeless has an array of reasons, most of the young people that find themselves in this situation is because of abuse within the family home and family breakdowns and not just from low income families as most people believe, but from wealthy backgrounds too, chaos and abuse is not specific."

A recent donation being presented to Whitehaven Community Trust (Image: Whitehaven Community Trust)

The Trust prides itself on being a place of beginnings. Kerry Maxwell said: "I’m very proud of the Trust’s achievement’s over the last 34 years.  We have helped so many young people through their time of crisis to move forward, it's great when an ex residents comes up to me in the street with their family and tell me how they have a job and their life is good"

One such example of the Trust’s impact is the story of Paul, a young man who found himself on the Trust’s doorstep after being turned away by his foster family at age 18.

Despite a difficult start, with time, support and inclusion provided by the Trust, Paul managed to turn his life around, equipping himself with the necessary skills to live independently and later building a successful career in the police.