Brian's story

Brian and his partner Steven became Supported Lodging hosts in 2016 as a way to help teenagers who they felt didn't always have the same opportunities as younger children. Brian said:

A lot of people don't want to care for teenagers, but I think they often need the most support. We both liked that young people would be living with us in a way which felt more like a family to them and that they would have the flexibility and the freedom that they needed too.  The young people who have stayed with us often don't know what they want to do for education, work and university and we find it really rewarding to be able to help them decide what's next for them. One of the young people we supported at first wouldn't talk to us much and was unsure of himself, but he's now 22 and at university and doing really well, and we speak to him regularly.

"We were initially apprehensive about the idea of becoming Supported Lodging Hosts but it's genuinely not as scary as we first thought and the training we received and support from the team has been invaluable.  There is an online training hub which lets you go at your own pace and learn about topics which might be particularly interesting to you based on the needs of the young person or people you are hosting, and the Supported Lodgings Team are just a phone call away.

"I would encourage anyone who is thinking about becoming a host to ask questions, read all of the information you are given and have an initial conversation with the team.  Making that initial call was the hardest part of the whole process but the fist chat with the team will help you decide if it's right for you and there's no pressure or expectations."

If you want to find out more about Supported Lodgings contact Laura Mills, Supported Lodgings Officer, on supportedlodgings@togetherforchildren.org.uk or call 0750 082 6729.