Action for Children expands housing capacity by 70% as youth referrals rise
- Action for Children increased accommodation capacity by 70% through MSP House development as youth housing referrals rose over 40%
- The charity received 99 new referrals in 2025, with 57 relating to housing and homelessness and 34 concerning substance use issues
- A new website attracted 325 unique visitors in 40 days whilst social media expansion increased reach by over 40%
- Education programmes delivered 749 hours of PSHE lessons including new vaping support responding to emerging youth trends
- Action Mentoring service launched with 10 trained volunteers, with plans to extend to younger age groups in 2026
Action for Children's Guernsey Youth & Housing Project has significantly expanded its services in 2025, increasing accommodation capacity by 70% while housing referrals rose by over 40% compared to the previous year.
The charity, which has operated in the Bailiwick of Guernsey since 2001, completed the development of MSP House and began housing young people within the new facility. The expansion proved critical in meeting heightened demand, alongside a higher-than-planned number of moves into social housing.
The organisation supports young people aged 13 to 25 across four main programmes: living skills and homelessness; substance use; resilience and employment; and social isolation through Social Spaces drop-in sessions.
In 2025, Action for Children received 99 new referrals. Of these, 57 related to housing, living skills or homelessness, whilst 34 concerned young people at risk of or experiencing issues with substances. A further 10 active cases carried over from the previous year. Additionally, 28 young adults aged 16-25 accessed the charity's Social Spaces groups.
The organisation's substance use team introduced defined brief interventions for young people engaged in low-risk drug use, delivering positive outcomes for participants. The Nightstop service, which provides emergency accommodation during immediate homelessness crises, also saw substantial improvements with increased usage.
Action for Children launched a new website which attracted 325 unique visitors in its first 40 days, with each visitor returning approximately three times. The improved accessibility has increased traffic through online referrals. The charity also expanded its social media presence by launching LinkedIn and Instagram pages, increasing reach by over 40%.
In education work, the organisation delivered 749 hours of PSHE lessons during the 2024/2025 academic year, including 196 hours on drugs, 192 hours on vaping, 232 hours on alcohol and 129 hours on tobacco. The addition of vaping education lessons enabled the charity to respond effectively to the emergence of vaping amongst young people. Working alongside public health, Action for Children also piloted a dedicated vaping support service.
Feedback from teaching staff showed high effectiveness scores across all lesson topics, with ratings ranging from 4.51 to 4.85 out of 5 for improving students' knowledge, confidence to resist pressures and understanding of social norms.
The organisation is delivered by 12 full-time staff, three part-time roles and three casual workers across Guernsey. Performance against commissioned key performance indicators showed the charity exceeded targets in several areas, including training flat occupancy rates (93% against an 86% target) and young people showing reduced substance misuse on exit (87% against an 80% target).
Action for Children successfully launched its Action Mentoring service in 2025, with 10 volunteers actively supporting young people in the community each week. All mentors completed evidence-based training.
The charity also hosted a conference in collaboration with Public Health, a GP and a clinical psychologist at St James, featuring the documentary Resilience which explores trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
For 2026, Action for Children plans to extend its volunteer-led mentoring service to include young people aged 13-17 years old through Action Mentoring Juniors. The organisation is also creating an Upskill programme as part of its work and wellbeing service, focussed on developing skills, qualifications, emotional wellbeing and physical health.
Following a pilot with St Sampsons High School, the charity anticipates rolling out Risk Avert, a UK evidence-based programme designed to provide targeted interventions for young people identified as being at potential future risk of behaviours including substance use.
Action for Children expressed concern about the reducing amount of universal open access youth provision available to young people on the island, describing this form of positive and diversionary activity as key to preventing and supporting future episodes of substance use.
Service users provided positive feedback about the charity's support. One young person said: "I can always count on action for children, when I was in a deep state, they housed me and gave me the second chance in life I needed."
Another said: "The extremely friendly team at Action for children has been supporting me in a really challenging time in my life. They are always happy to listen and help when I really need it and have made me feel more confident about my future."
A third service user stated: "Your kindness gave me direction. Being with Action for Children helped me rebuild when I needed it the most."
Q&A
Q: How much did Action for Children increase its accommodation capacity in 2025?
A: Action for Children increased its accommodation capacity by 70% through the completion and opening of MSP House, which began housing young people during 2025.
Q: How many new referrals did Action for Children receive in 2025?
A: Action for Children received 99 new referrals in 2025, with 57 relating to housing, living skills or homelessness, 34 concerning substance use issues, and the remainder for other support pathways.
Q: What education programmes does Action for Children deliver in schools?
A: Action for Children delivered 749 hours of PSHE lessons during the 2024/2025 academic year, covering drugs (196 hours), vaping (192 hours), alcohol (232 hours) and tobacco (129 hours).
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