YMCA North Tyneside: Who are we?
YMCA North Tyneside is a locally rooted charity with a history dating back to 1879. Dedicated to strengthening our community with love and unwavering support, we provide essential, holistic services across five key areas – including supported housing for vulnerable young people and empowering programs for all ages – to ensure every individual feels valued, hopeful, and equipped to thrive. We achieve this through five key, integrated service areas:
🏠 Housing: As a Registered Provider of Social Housing, we offer safe, supported accommodation to young people (16+) who are homeless or at risk, helping them gain independence and stability. We currently provide 73 bed spaces (with a goal of 110 by 2030) and recently added 16 new bed spaces to our North Shields supported housing.
🧠 Training & Education: We empower individuals to believe in their potential by running accredited training and employability programmes. Initiatives like Leaders for Life equip young people, including those in our housing, with certified skills, vocational experience, and confidence for independent futures.
👨👩👧 Family & Youth Work: We offer safe, positive environments where young people (aged 5+) can learn life skills, develop healthy habits, and find strong community connections. Specialist programmes include Youth Groups, Healthy Heroes, and Kid’s Club.
💪 Health & Wellbeing: We inspire holistic growth (Body, Mind, and Spirit) by running a welcoming community gym and accessible fitness programmes for all ages. We remove barriers by offering free provisions such as Cardiac Rehab and Cancer prehab/rehab with our qualified instructors.
❤️ Support & Advice: We show love through practical care, offering immediate support and non-judgemental advice on things like accessing services. We ensure all ages have the essential resources needed to feel less isolated, through Community Meals and the Opportunities for All Bursary.
Why CEO Sleepout is Important to Us
CEO Sleepout is a transformational partnership for both our cause and our participants. It gives us a crucial platform to address the growing crisis of youth homelessness while offering participants a powerful, practical experience.
By spending a night outside, participants gain an invaluable, firsthand insight into the harsh realities faced by people sleeping rough, deepening their empathy and converting them into powerful advocates.
The funds and vital awareness generated by this initiative are directly channeled into strengthening our core services, particularly our Supported Accommodation and Housing programs. This enables us to provide the safe environment, life-skills training, and mental health support necessary to help young people break the cycle of homelessness, moving from crisis to independence. This partnership fuels both our immediate mission and the long-term awareness required to create lasting change in the North East.