Software giant Sage has urged fellow businesses to intervene to help people in need after a scheme which helped 11 young people at risk of homelessness.
The Newcastle company worked with charity Family Gateway and Newcastle City Council to identify 11 young people at risk of homelessness and work with them for a year to ensure they all had a place to call home.
The A Place to Call Home scheme, which saw the charity working with the young people and their families, saw eight of the young people able to stay in their family home, while alternative homes were arranged for the other three.
READ MORE: {}
Sage said the scheme saved the state tens of thousands of pounds, and it now plans to continue working with the young people involved to get them into further education, as well as repeating it for a new group of vulnerable youngsters.
Sage Foundation programme manager Elaine McCulloch, said: "Sage started this project because physical harm, terror and destruction of lifelong potential in any young person is unacceptable.
"We wanted to prove that prevention work was not only affordable, it cost a fraction of the alternative. The earlier you can intervene to support a family, the less chance there is of a young person ending up on the streets.
"The 11 young people that we worked with in our Newcastle pilot were all at risk of being made homeless. Through intervention they’re all now in a safe space.
"We have an evaluation report to prove that this approach works. We want to share this learning with the business community and we want them to join us in expanding our focus on prevention work to make sure that no other young person has to end up on the streets.”
Most Read
Sage has been praised for its role in the project by Newcastle City Council deputy leader Joyce McCarty.
She said: “This brilliant piece of work from Sage has shown how organisations, regardless of their size, can have a positive impact on the lives of young people at risk of homelessness.
“Homelessness is everybody’s business, and we would encourage organisations across the city to consider what they can do to prevent young people from becoming homeless and support those who are.”
The project was funded by the Sage Foundation, the company’s charitable arm, which backs projects around the world that are aligned to six of the United Nations sustainable development goals: education for all; gender equality; decent work opportunities; economic growth; innovation and meaningful partnerships.
The Foundation encourages Sage's 13,000 staff around the world to dedicate five paid days a year to charities close to their heart. It also made 168 grants to charities in 2018.