Salford 24/7 project

Action for Children Project 24/7 is based at the Beacon Centre in Salford and provides homeless advice and support for young people aged 14-25.  Young people who have experienced homelessness or are living in temporary accommodation are given the opportunity to volunteer as peer mentors at Project 24/7.  This gives them the chance to develop their skills and use their own experiences to help other young people faced with similar issues regarding homelessness.

In 2009 Project 24/7 has worked with over 175 young people to raise awareness of homelessness through a range of initiatives including peer mentoring, school workshops and community drop-in sessions. “Project 24/7 has helped me because it’s given me more confidence to talk to people I don’t know and it’s made me more motivated.”
Sara, Project 24/7 peer mentor.

Young people who volunteer as peer mentors for Project 24/7 are able to increase their self-esteem, build teamwork skills, deliver presentations and work towards the ASDAN Peer Mentoring Award.  This provides a valuable volunteering opportunity for the peer mentors, many of whom have recently experienced homelessness or are not in education, employment or training.

24/7 peer mentors have taken the lead in raising awareness of homelessness through giving a presentation at a fundraising evening for homeless people and making a film about their experiences of being homeless.

Young people are referred to Project 24/7 drop-in sessions through supported accommodation, social workers and Connexions advisers.  At the weekly sessions they meet their peer mentors who help to develop their knowledge of the housing system and the skills they may need to live independently and prevent future homelessness.

Peer mentors are keen to share their experiences with their mentees across a range of activities including helping them to cook healthy food independently.  Substance misuse support and mental health advice are also provided for both peer mentors and mentees by SMART and 42nd Street.

Project 24/7 is planning to grow their mentoring project through developing a programme of regular one-to-one support for young people, something which the volunteer peer mentors are keen to undertake.


Peer mentors help to deliver the homeless prevention sessions in schools and challenge any myths that young people may have around being homeless.  Peer mentors ask the pupils, “what do you think a homeless person is like?”.  The pupils discuss their ideas and afterwards the peer mentors are able to challenge their perceptions by illustrating their real-life experiences: “would you believe I was homeless?”.

Project co-ordinator Fliss Johnson-Standley is certain that the pupils are able to really engage with the reality of homelessness because they are listening to another young person talk about their own experiences and answer their questions.

Through delivering homeless prevention sessions in schools, Project 24/7 has helped young people in Salford to understand homelessness issues and learn from the experiences of their peers.  Their sessions receive a positive response from schools, who regularly invite Project 24/7 to return each year with their volunteer peer mentors.

Project 24/7 peer mentors help to break the homelessness cycle and can build a safe and stable future for themselves and other young people.

Project co-ordinator: Fliss Johnson-Standley
Contact details: 0161 778 0707

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