About The Foyer Federation
The Foyer movement resists the 'no home, no job, no home' cycle that many vulnerable young people find themselves trapped in and is at the forefront of efforts to reduce youth homelessness and social exclusion.
There are 115 Foyers throughout the UK, providing safe accommodation and training opportunities for young people who, without support and encouragement, are at risk of remaining permanently on the fringes of society.
Foyers are unique in that they offer a holistic approach to the problems many young people face and bring together under one umbrella the services needed to support their transition to independence. Foyers maximise a young person's full potential and enable them to achieve economic and personal independence by making available a complete package of accommodation, personal support and access to basic, personal and work skills projects.
By building links with local services, companies and private individuals, Foyers encourage community regeneration and co-operation whether they are located in rural North Yorkshire or the heart of the East End in London.
Without donations from the public, statutory and private sector foyers are unable to sustain their work. Currently the Foyer movement accommodates 5,000 young homeless people a year and helps a further 5,000 non-residents gain access to training, education and employment opportunities.
Our history
When the Foyer movement started in France after WW2, it enabled young people to move from rural to urban areas to take up work. Foyers in France developed with a balanced community of young workers, students and some young people who were homeless or unemployed.
By the time the Foyer concept crossed the Channel in the early '90s there was a much more urgent need - to provide housing and a community for the many young people who are unable to continue to live at home until they have completed the transition to adult life.
1991 - A meeting takes place between Shelter and Grand Metropolitan (now Diageo) to lay the foundations for what is to become the UK Foyer movement. At this early stage, and before a single Foyer has opened, the target of opening 100 foyers within the next decade is set.
1992 - A team of two are employed to set up the Foyer Federation for Youth, an umbrella organisation to support and promote the development and expansion of the UK Foyer movement. The first British Foyer Projects open - by the end of the year three Foyers are operating, accommodating a total of 350 young people.
1996 - 40 foyers are operating through out the UK, accommodating approximately 2,000 young people as well as providing facilities for the training of non-residents.
1997 - The need for definition of what a 'Foyer' is leads to the development of the Foyer Accreditation Scheme. Key characteristics are identified which all new projects must fulfil before they can call themselves a Foyer, thus ensuring that the quality of provision and service delivery is consistent throughout the country.
Belfast Foyer is the first to be opened in Northern Ireland. Foyers in Scotland and Wales have already opened and the movement is effectively represented in every corner of the UK.
1998 - The Foyer Federation for Youth changes its name to The Foyer Federation and moves to larger premises in Clerkenwell. The UK Foyer Council is created, where foyer practitioners, young people and other stakeholders meet to determine vision and direction for the UK Foyer movement.
2000 - 'Independence 2000' celebrates the creative achievements of young Foyers residents who have participated in a national project that allows them to develop skills in the areas of photography, multimedia and web design.
The 100th Foyer opens in Liverpool, only eight and a half years after the movement was initiated. Foyers throughout the country now accommodate over 5,000 young people and open doors to opportunity for thousands more non-residents.
In October the Foyer movement's capacity to transform lives is given a huge boost in the form of a grant of £6.5 million to open (in partnership with ICL) UK Online centres in 45 English foyers. These centres will provide Internet awareness training and access to web based learning for both Foyer residents and a wide range of people in local communities. Over the next three years we hope to offer 40,000 people the chance to learn.