Our History
The Foyer Federation was established in 1992, alongside the first five Foyers. Since then, the Foyer network has grown rapidly and now operates in over 130 urban and rural communities across the UK, providing safe, quality assured environments, where experts reconnect up to 10,000 vulnerable young people each year with personal development opportunities.
Inspired by a visit to the Foyers in France, Sheila McKechnie brought together Shelter and Grand Metropolitan (now part of Diageo) to meet the challenge of rising youth unemployment and homelessness - the ‘no home - no job- no home' cycle.
Along the way, the Foyer Federation has supported the growth and development of Foyers, providing a Quality Assurance scheme which all our delivery partners join, with the aim of being accredited by our independent Accreditation Panel. We have also developed initiatives in learning and skills, early intervention, mental and physical health, and workforce development that support the principles of the Foyer ethos. We have also published guides for those developing Foyers, staff working in Foyers (including Foyer managers), and those seeking to work in partnership with Foyers.
Over recent years, we have set about demonstrating that the Foyer approach has as much to offer young people growing up in the 21st century as it did when we were set up to promote and develop the concept in the early 1990s. In doing this, we have recognised the need for Foyers to change if they are to respond to the changing needs of young people. We have drawn in funding to help us show that the approach can be ‘stretched' and ‘targeted' so that it works for those for whom the transition to adulthood is particularly challenging - young people leaving care or youth offending institutions, young parents and other young people at risk and in settings that go well beyond the traditional supported housing model. Over the next three years we want to show how what we have learnt from 16 years of Foyer development can be applied in these settings.