LandAid has vowed to focus on one goal: eliminating youth homelessness.
Last week marked a milestone for LandAid. At the property industry’s charity’s Ambassador Awards hosted by PwC at its More London office, chief executive Paul Morrish announced that from 1 April next year LandAid will dedicate itself to a single purpose: ending youth homelessness.
The move, which Property Week, Estates Gazette and CoStar have taken the unprecedented decision to report on simultaneously to show our collective support, follows a review of LandAid’s impact to date and months of extensive discussion between the charity and property leaders.
Speaking at the event, Morrish called on property to become the first business sector to help achieve a single, massive act of social change. “The property industry has an extraordinary opportunity to play a leading role in ending youth homelessness,” he said. “That so many young people are affected and suffer is appalling; that so influential and successful a sector as the property industry has taken their cause to heart is unprecedented - and very exciting.”
The new strategy will focus on three key areas of work: preventing youth homelessness through work with ‘at risk’ groups; protecting young people on the streets and in immediate danger; and providing those who are or who have been homeless accommodation, support and training.
To that end, LandAid has launched a programme to bring at least 30 empty properties in the UK into use as homes for young homeless people. Charities working in the field were last month invited to apply for grants from LandAid’s £1m Empty Properties Funding Programme. A total of £6m was requested by the 57 organisations that applied. Funding will be awarded to successful applicants next year.
LandAid chairman Liz Peace said: “We’re confident that businesses and their staff across the property industry will rally to the cause, helping us raise the money we need and providing the free professional property advice the charities we support need.”
The winners
- Increasing Funds Raised for LandAid: Amy Meyrick, Cluttons
- Increasing Awareness of LandAid (sponsored by M&G): Suzi Edwards, PwC
- Most Successful Collaboration (sponsored by Applied Energy): Ross Burns and Alexandra Randall, LaSalle Investment Management
- Most Outstanding Ambassador (sponsored by PwC): Nick Bailey, Grainger
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