Happy 8th Birthday Beacon Leeds

A service which supports multiple disadvantaged homeless adults and families into homes and sustain healthier, independent lives is celebrating its eighth anniversary.

Beacon Leeds was launched in 2017 by Turning Lives Around and fellow local charities Touchstone and Inspire North (formerly Foundation). The aim was, by pooling their unique expertise and experience, the three partners could effectively work with people with multiple disadvantages who were experiencing or, at risk of, homelessness.

Eight years on and the service has expanded to take on new roles and specialisms with added support for families, rough sleepers and those experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

The service has 240 bed spaces provided across a range of accommodation. This includes three Intensive Support Environments (ISEs) – Francis House, Grace Lodge and Oakdale – where we provide 24/7 staffed accommodation for men and women. We even have kennels at Oakdale for those clients with dogs. In addition, we have 204 community based or ‘dispersed’ properties which vary in size and type of accommodation.

Working together, the Beacon partners plus other specialist agencies enable clients to manage or overcome personal challenges while gaining skills around budgeting, looking after themselves and their homes. On average, a hundred Beacon clients annually move on to independent living in more permanent homes sourced through private rental, housing associations or Leeds City Council.

Mia Cameron said: “Beacon has evolved considerably in the last eight years. We have developed as a trauma informed organisation, leading the way in working with people with multiple disadvantages and sharing that knowledge.

“While we roughly have the same number of properties available to us as we did at the outset, we have changed and updated a lot of them, improving standards, replacing many shared properties and making accommodation on offer more suited to today’s expectations.”

The service’s development has been largely shaped by the challenges impacting the sector in which it operates.

Service Director Lesley Hill commented: “Beacon has adapted and responded to the challenges to meet the changing needs of clients over the last eight years despite the financial pressures and national recruitment crisis affecting the sector.”

Mia added: “Cutbacks affecting other services have impacted on us as there is a higher demand for our support from clients with unmet needs. We have also seen a growth in cuckooing and the impact of crime on vulnerable people.”

But despite the challenges, Beacon’s commitment to supporting the city’s vulnerable homeless into homes remains steadfast. The start of 2025 saw Leeds City Council renew the Beacon contract for another three years giving service leaders the chance to plan ahead.

“We want to be bigger, better and bolder,” said Mia. “We want to continue securing new contracts and focus on getting better outcomes for clients including introducing new roles to increase the support available and looking at a whole range of move plans including private rented accommodation. We’re also keen to consolidate colleague training and build on existing expertise.”