BYHP trustee Mark Petterson joins the House of Lords

Mark Petterson was formally introduced to the House of Lords as Lord Petterson on 22 October. He is using the occasion to shine a spotlight on the importance of supporting young people in Oxfordshire and the vital role local charities play in preventing young people from reaching crisis point.

 

Mark has been a Trustee of Banbury-based charity BYHP (Tackling the Route Causes of Youth Homelessness) since 2016. He established the BYHP Funding Circle, which brings together regular donors to provide reliable funding for the charity. Alongside his wife Vanessa, he has also been a significant supporter of BYHP for the past decade.

 

BYHP provides counselling, mental wellbeing support, family mediation, employability support and housing advice to young people. Its preventative approach helps those experiencing difficulties that may not meet the thresholds for statutory intervention, providing support before problems escalate.

 

Linda Slide, CEO of BYHP, said:

 

"The need for our services remains consistent and shows no signs of diminishing. Every day, we work with young people who are struggling with their mental health, relationships at home, education or uncertainty about their future.

 

"These challenges rarely exist in isolation. Poor mental health can affect education, employment and family relationships, all of which can increase a young person's vulnerability to homelessness."

 

BYHP is also preparing to introduce Upstream, a youth homelessness prevention programme working with schools to identify young people who may be at risk of homelessness and provide support before they reach crisis point.

 

Linda added:

"Upstream is an exciting development for us because it focuses on identifying risk much earlier. Rather than waiting until a young person is facing homelessness, we want to recognise the warning signs and put support in place before a crisis occurs.”

 

"Mark has been a wonderful supporter of BYHP, and we are incredibly grateful that he is using this significant moment in his own journey to help raise awareness of the challenges young people face and the importance of investing in preventative services."

 

Mark said:

"I have been a proud supporter of BYHP for many years and can attest to the fantastic work that this small but brilliant team do. The support they provide has changed somewhat over time, particularly with Covid, but Linda and the team have successfully risen to every challenge that they have faced. Upstream is the latest initiative and it could be a game changer."

Congratulations, Lord Petterson, from all of us at BYHP!