Unite Students partners with youth intervention charity

• Unite Students enters into partnership with youth intervention charity, Streets of Growth, which supports disengaged and marginalised young adults
• Unite Students will provide two floors of space to the charity at its new London flagship property, Hayloft Point, at a peppercorn annual rent
• Space will give Streets of Growth its first permanent HQ
• Streets of Growth case study: Ami Simpson* explains how the organisation’s programmes changed her life

Unite Students, the UK’s leading owner, manager and developer of student accommodation, has partnered with Streets of Growth, a leading youth intervention charity.

Unite Students will provide two floors of space to the organisation at its flagship London property, Hayloft Point, to allow it to undertake vital work in the local area.

Streets of Growth, which was founded in 2001, is a dynamic, ‘life changing’ youth intervention charity, engaging with disadvantaged and marginalised young adults (aged 15-25). It works closely with the police and other agencies to tackle knife crime, gang culture and other anti-social behaviour. Its programmes aim to ‘break the cycle’ of criminality or hopelessness amongst the young people it works with, and ensure they have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

The charity carries out direct street intervention work and aims to support a transition into education and/or employment, running skills workshops covering a range of area, from digital to construction to fashion and beauty.

Until now, the organisation has operated without any permanent premises. The move will see the two floors of Hayloft Point in Aldgate, London, become its first dedicated HQ.

Streets of Growth will use the space for intervention coaching and creative activities to engage the young people it works with – including productions, filmmaking and textiles. The charity is partnered with the British Bangladeshi Fashion Council, which supports this work. The space at Hayloft Point already incorporates a dedicated performance space/stage, which will facilitate a number of these projects.

Richard Smith, Chief Executive of Unite Students, said:

“We are proud to partner with Streets of Growth and to support their vital work with young adults. This partnership is part of our commitment to have a positive impact on the communities around us.”

Diane Peters, CEO of Streets of Growth, said:

“To be working in partnership with Unite Students, and operating from our new HQ in Aldgate, is incredible. This is our first long-term tenancy since we were established in 2001 and gives us, and our community partnerships, a long-term future – to ensure no vulnerable young adults are left behind, living in harm.”   

Case study

Ami Simpson*, aged 18, said:

“Growing up poor in Tower Hamlets is really hard. Around here, you don’t want to look poor because there are certain people who prey on those who are vulnerable – and that is the reason I got trapped into drug dealing. I was offered £100 to hold drugs but when they asked me to drop it off, they got someone to rob me –  and said I now owed them £1,000 – and had to drug deal to pay off the debt.

“My mum met Streets of Growth at a community event where young people are trained to lead community action projects to improve the safety of the local communities. At first, I refused the invitation to get involved because I lacked confidence, but my intervention coach never gave up on me and visited my home for several weeks, helping with life skills. I am now ready to start their transition into employment workshop, which I will be attending at their new site in Aldgate.”

*Name changed to protect person’s identity

Notes to Editors

For further information, please contact Unite Students press office on 0117 4506300 or email: press.office@unitestudents.com

About Unite Students

Unite Students is the UK’s largest owner, manager and developer of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) serving the country’s world-leading higher education sector. We provide homes to 70,000 students across 169 properties in 23 leading university towns and cities. We currently partner with over 60 universities across the UK.

Our people are driven by a common purpose: to provide a ‘Home for Success’ for the students who live with us. Unite Students’ accommodation is safe and secure, high quality, and affordable. Students live predominantly in en-suite study bedrooms with rents covering all bills, insurance, 24-hour security and high-speed Wi-Fi. We also achieved a five-star British Safety Council rating in our last audit.

We are committed to raising standards in the student accommodation sector for our customers, investors and employees. This is why our new Sustainability Strategy, launched in 2021, includes a commitment to become net zero carbon across our operations and developments by 2030.

Founded in 1991 in Bristol, the Unite Group is an award-winning Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit Unite Group’s corporate website www.unitegroup.com or the Unite Students’ site www.unitestudents.com