Homeless charity grows family interventions team after winning £90,000 boost

The KEY Project, which has its headquarters on Baring Street, South Shields, received news of the £90,000 donation made on behalf of the Mercers’ Foundation earlier this year.

The church-aligned charity has said, however, that the Covid-19 pandemic delayed recruitment for its growing Reconnect and Family Intervention team.

Now that interviews for the new roles within the organisation have taken place, KEY says the newest addition to its team – a dedicated Family Intervention Officer - is due to begin later this month.

The cash boost has meant the full-time role can be sustained for three years.

Commenting on the benefits for South Tyneside families he hopes the new recruit will bring, KEY’s executive lead, Ross Allen, said: “Demand for our Reconnect and Family Intervention service has exceeded all expectations.

"Thanks to the funding we have received from The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, following a highly competitive selection process, the appointment of a second Reconnect and Family Intervention Officer will enable us to extend our provision to work with an additional 80 families each year.”

“Timely family intervention keeps more families together by preventing further escalation and reducing the risk of children and young people being made homeless or taken into care.

"The aim wherever possible is to keep children and young people safely with their families and in their own community.”

KEY’s Reconnect and Family Intervention Team was formally established in 2018 to lend immediate support to crisis-hit families and help develop longer-term resilience skills.

In its inaugural year, the charity says this service provided intervention support to 65 young people, aged between 11 and 16, from 50 different families.

Meanwhile, KEY says that 210 families with young people aged 16-24 received mediation and 180 returned home with only 10 per cent re-presenting as homeless during the same period.

Matthew Roche, communities grants programme manager at the Mercers’ Company, said of the donation: “It is great that the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation can support the invaluable work of KEY Project.

"The Family Intervention Team provides much needed help to those facing significant pressures, supporting positive relationships between parents and children, and therefore also preventing youth homelessness.”

A message from the Editor:

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to the Shields Gazette website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit here to sign up. You can subscribe to the newspaper with 20% off here. Thank you.