Intervention: Sandwell, Wolverhampton
Fund: Third Sector Investment Fund
Date of Investment: October 2016. Repaid: July 2018
Impact Area: Family, Friends and Relationships
Beneficiary Group: Vulnerable children (including looked after children), Vulnerable young people (including Care Leavers and NEETs)
With origins that go back to 1869, Family Action is one of the UK’s oldest charities. It continues to innovate in its areas of expertise: early years, children and families, and adult mental health.
The charity supports 45,000 families and children each year in 140 community-based services. It helps thousands more with financial assistance through education and welfare grants programmes.
SASC investment funded payment-by-results (PBR) programmes in two West Midlands local authorities. The loan was repaid using outcome payments from local authorities
The loan provided support to vulnerable young people in care.
Safe Haven addresses a small cohort of young people: the most troubled 2% of the overall national population of 68,000 “Looked-after” Children
Around 9% of the Looked After Children (LAC) population are living in secure units, children’s homes or hostels at any one time. A particularly problematic group of older children, typically 11-17yr, makes up around 2% of the total LAC population (FA’s estimate). The SASC investment will allow up to 55 young people (YP) to benefit from the Safe Haven pilot project
Safe Haven will increase the stability in the lives of some of the country’s most vulnerable young people and has the potential to profoundly to improve their life chances. The intervention will also offer local government a cost effective solution to working with vulnerable young people in care
If the intervention performs well, investors will share in the upside; if conversely it does less well than expected, investors will share with Family Action in any losses that are incurred
If it wasn’t for Safe Haven, I don’t think I’d be where I am now … I’m a much better person, I’m a lot less, what’s that word? Ignorant. … Before I had no support. And I think it’s because I’ve got the support and I know that people care I think it’s making me more of a happy person.
Young person accessing Safe Haven support
