Future Of Local Charity’s Peer Education Programme Secured For Next Two Years

Staff at Sheffield law firm Irwin Mitchell have raised an incredible £55,184 for the Peer Education Programme of Roundabout, a local youth homeless charity committed to helping young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness in the city. This new funding now secures the future of this vital programme until 2021.

Roundabout was nominated by Sheffield office staff to be their Charity of the Year as part of the Irwin Mitchell Charities Foundation (IMCF) programme. Established in 1997, the IMCF is an independent registered charity which, thanks to last year’s efforts, has donated more than £2 million to good causes throughout the UK and £284,000 in 2018 alone.

Sheffield staff took part in a number of fundraising initiatives over the 12 month period, including a netball tournament, bake sales and running in the Sheffield 10k and Percy Pud races. Others took part in the charity’s Sleep Out, in addition to the firm being an official sponsor of the project.

All the money raised will help fund the Roundabout Peer Education Programme, which is delivered by young Peer Educators to thousands of young people in schools and colleges every year, as a key part of the charity’s Homeless Prevention Service.

Expert Opinion

“Roundabout is a superb local charity that works with over 180 young people every day, providing support and shelter, in addition to life skills to help them gain independence. The Peer Education Programme is having a positive impact on thousands of young lives in the city. All the staff in the Sheffield office are proud we have been able to raise such a significant sum for them via the IMCF.” Niall Baker - Managing Partner - Court of Protection and Public Law

Ben Keegan, Roundabout CEO, said: “We are so grateful to Irwin Mitchell for raising this incredible amount of money for Peer Education, our ground breaking homeless education project for under 16s. Our dedicated team of Peer Educators are all young people who have experienced homelessness themselves, are trained to deliver sessions in schools and gain a BTEC Level 2 Award in Skills for Further Learning and Employment. The sessions raise awareness of youth homelessness, break down stereotypes, explore the reasons young people become homeless using real life stories and inform young people of local organisations that can help with problems at home.

“Last year, we delivered sessions to more than 3000 students across Sheffield, preventing many young people from becoming homeless unnecessarily, signposting others to services to help address issues at home and supporting some to leave home in a planned way by being placed in suitable accommodation with support for independent living. This funding will enable us to deliver Peer Education for a further two years and reach even more young people, preventing them from becoming homeless.”