What began as a question—“How can we create better options for young people in mental health crisis?”—became a shared mission between Look Ahead and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust.
Early WFET funding allowed us to investigate the gap, conduct research and build the evidence that such a model was not only needed, but urgently so. With that insight, WFET backed us to go further. Their support helped transform the idea into reality—contributing funding to the planning, design and delivery of our pioneering 12‑bed Oaklands and St Kilda’s service. This homely, supportive environment now offers young people 24/7 specialist support and a genuine alternative to institutional care.
Yet the need for these services continues to outstrip supply. WFET have continued to support us with more sophisticated work: researching how to scale the approach, examining capital models, and convening national stakeholders to influence policy and investment in supported housing.
Today, Look Ahead not only runs a service that changes individual lives, but it also has a growing evidence base and a platform to influence national systems—all rooted in a partnership that backed an idea, nurtured it, and helped it grow into wider systemic change.
Explore our approach or meet the team behind our work.
This research exposes how housing-related debt traps single mothers and their children in temporary accommodation, and how fairer policies could help families move towards safety, stability and a real home.
Read more about A researcher’s story: what our work means for single mothers and their childrenFor many families, temporary accommodation is not just a housing issue, it shapes childhood itself. Frequent moves disrupt schooling, access to healthcare is inconsistent and the conditions many families face can harm both physical and mental health.
Read more about Hidden in plain sight: making children in temporary accommodation visibleThe UK's housing challenges need more than awareness – they require sustained policy change. WFET's investment in a dedicated housing research role has helped the Centre for Social Justice bring MPs, industry leaders and experts together to make the case for reform, with real results in Parliament.
Read more about Building a national voice for fair, secure housing
