Working as a legal aid housing solicitor I have seen homeless
individuals who are the most vulnerable and are more likely to be led into a life of crime, drugs, alcohol and severity of mental health. 

I became a trustee for the Southend YMCA to help young people
in the hope I can prevent them being homeless in the future.  The Southend YMCA makes a real difference to young people's lives and enable them to learn independence, obtain and sustain
housing.

I have always been fortunate enough to have a somewhere to call home, but many do not.  Life events have happened through no fault of
the children and young adults involved with the Southend YMCA.

The Southend YMCA give children and young adults the opportunity to have what many of us take for granted (a home, support, and peers). If the Southend YMCA did not exist many more children and young adults would be homeless, suffering violence and having no hope for the future.