Homeless Charity Awarded Funding for Sustainable Living and Wellbeing Project 

YWCA Yorkshire’s homeless hostel, Peile House, has been awarded £8,750.60 from the YOR4Good fund. The money will be used to deliver a programme of activity that develops emotional and practical life skills whilst promoting environmental sustainability. 

The Inside Out Wellbeing Programme will reduce the risk of repeat homelessness, enhance mental wellbeing, and strengthen social networks. Women supported by YWCA Yorkshire, staff and volunteers, have co-produced a programme of activity designed to support vulnerable young women to break cycles of trauma and poverty and build healthier, more productive lives.  

With the backing of the YOR4Good fund, Peile House are delivering a structured programme of weekly wellbeing sessions in both indoor and outdoor settings.  

Sessions include therapeutic and creative activities such as yoga, arts and crafts, and nature-based trips, designed to improve emotional regulation, reduce anxiety, and build self-esteem.  

Following the support of corporate volunteers, introduced to YWCA Yorkshire by Sheffield Business Together, who recently cleared the outdoor spaces around Peile House, the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme will transform the hostel’s underused garden area into a calming, private space, where young women and children can feel safe and learn new skills. 

Peile House residents will lead on planting flower beds and creating a community vegetable garden. Homegrown produce will be used in cooking sessions, and to explore and develop independent living skills such as budgeting, healthy eating, and meal preparation.  

A sustainable and scalable delivery model, learning and impact from the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme will be shared across YWCA Yorkshire’s projects in Rotherham and Doncaster, supporting the charity’s long-term strategy to empower women and strengthen communities. 

Peile House is YWCA Yorkshire’s homeless hostel and trauma-informed support service for young women aged 16–25 in Sheffield. Young women living at Peile House have experienced multiple disadvantages including domestic abuse (68%), sexual violence or exploitation (60%), and poor mental health (77%), with 33% having contemplated suicide.  YWCA Yorkshire gives residents a safe and supportive place to live and access to compassionate, expert and inclusive support programmes to aid recovery. 

Specifically, the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme addresses feelings of low self-esteem, loneliness and mistrust, experienced by young women with complex challenges and multiple disadvantages. 

YWCA Yorkshire’s Chief Executive, Diane Offers, said, “The women we support through Peile House are survivors, overcoming the hardest of times, often with the least access to support networks and opportunities. Peile House can often be the catalyst for change in a young person’s life. A chance to address past traumas and re-set. A chance to start to imagine and to build a better future. However, we couldn’t deliver the level of therapeutic intervention needed without the funding support from YOR4Good and the volunteer support from corporate partners. Projects like the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme really can change lives, not just for the women we are supporting now, but for the next generation, for future neighbours and for our wider communities.” 

The Inside Out Wellbeing Programme is a long-term investment in the health, independence, and future success of homeless young women and their children in Sheffield. Kickstarted with YOR4Good funding, the transformation of the gardens surrounding Peile House will empower residents with lifelong skills and grow onward opportunities to provide holistic support for women and children into the future. 

Philip Henderson, YOR4Good Fund Chair & YORbuild Programme Manager, said, “The YOR4Good Fund is proud to support the Inside Out Wellbeing Programme which is providing invaluable assistance for vulnerable members of our community. The residents of Peile House will receive life changing support and the foundations for a new start in life. Involvement of the YOR4Good Fund would not be possible without the co-operation of the Contractors appointed to the YORhub frameworks enabling us to give back to the communities we serve."  

YWCA Yorkshire were nominated for the YOR4Good Fund by friends and supporters of the charity, construction company, Henry Boot.