CCP is a registered charity (No.1043143) that exists to transform the lives of children, young people, families and vulnerable adults by preventing homelessness, strengthening families and promoting independence. With a head office in Cheltenham, we currently employ 90 staff, backed up by a team of 190 volunteers, currently delivering services and projects in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Wiltshire and Dorset.

The charity was originally founded in 1989 by a local businessman in response to the growing number of homeless young people in Cheltenham. Recognising that people as young as 16 were sleeping rough around the town after having been thrown out of their family home, he purchased a building and opened a 10 bed hostel.

Over the years, the charity has grown to become one of Gloucestershire’s foremost voluntary sector social care providers, and some 27 years after it was founded the original hostel is still managed by CCP as part of our Foyer service, offering integrated accommodation and training to young people who are working to achieve sustainable independent living. The charity has also expanded in terms of the range of services offered and the geographical reach, currently working across five counties in the South West.

We embrace Social Value by encouraging volunteers to get involved in all of our services and projects. We have around 190 volunteers adding value, skills and capacity to everything we do. In the last year, volunteers have contributed 28,400 hours, worth £375,000!

We also have a thriving student program and provide work placements for social work students from UWE, University of Gloucestershire and University of Worcestershire, overseen by qualified Practice Educators.

We deliver a comprehensive range of interlocking services including:
  • Foyer Supported Accommodation and life-skills training for homeless young people aged 16 to 25 who are working to achieve independent living. CCP currently runs 89 units of supported accommodation for young homeless people in Cheltenham, Stroud, Patchway (South Gloucestershire) and Bournemouth.
  • Independent Living Services for 16-17 year old Looked-After Children preparing to leave local authority care.
  • Aspire Gloucestershire, a DCLG & Cabinet Office-funded project in partnership with P3 to support high-risk young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)
  • Parenting and Family Support services, including intensive support to prevent children entering the care system, Family Relationships Mediation to prevent youth homelessness, support for the “Troubled Families” agenda, and support for families with issues relating to physical and mental health, disability, family breakdown, social exclusion, school exclusion, chaotic lifestyles, drug and alcohol abuse, anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and poor parenting skills.
  • Cheltenham 1st Stop drop-in centre, offering information, advice and guidance.
  • CCP FoodShare – an emergency foodbank for people on the edge of poverty.
  • Advice & Financial Inclusion services, including debt, benefits, housing and welfare advice.
  • Housing-related mental health support services for adults at risk of homelessness.
  • Homelessness Prevention Services, including floating and drop-in support for adults at risk of homelessness, support for the No Second Night Out protocol, support for rough sleepers, and tenancy-ready training.
  • Housing Management services within supported accommodation sites
  • Advocacy services, including Generic Advocacy, Care Act Advocacy, Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA), Deprivation of Liberty advocacy (DoLS), Advocacy for Children and Young People, Independent Visitor Service for children and young people in care, and drug, alcohol & substance misuse advocacy.
  • Social Prescribing: helping vulnerable adults to access social and community support and activities where these are more appropriate than GP and NHS services
  • Mentoring and support for young people
  • Youth Activities: including Cheltenham Youth Club and Studio340 music and recording centre.
  • A Wellbeing Centre offering services and activities for people with issues related to mental health, drugs & alcohol misuse, offending, learning disabilities etc., operated in partnership with Independence Trust
  • Drop-In centres for advocacy, housing, debt, benefits and general advice.
  • Appropriate Adult services to monitor the rights and welfare of juveniles and vulnerable adults held in police custody.
  • Volunteering Gloucestershire – the county’s general volunteering service
  • Involve Gloucestershire, an employer-supported volunteering brokerage service.
  • Cheltenham Challenge – an annual festival of running to raise funds for CCP and other charities, featuring 5k, 10k, and Half Marathon races
  • Hamper Scamper Christmas giving scheme: relying on the generosity of businesses, schools, churches and members of the public, in 2016 Hamper Scamper generated over 2500 gifts for disadvantaged children and young people, and 1148 food hampers for disadvantaged families and adults, worth over £130,000.

CCP is determined to deliver a personalised Gold Standard service to each and every child, young person, family and vulnerable adult we support. We operate within 12 different quality frameworks including ISO9001, Investors in People Gold, Investors in Diversity, Investing in Volunteers, Foyer Federation, Advice Quality Standard, Advice UK, UK Register of Mediators, Advocacy QPM, National Appropriate Adult Network, Supporting People 5A accreditation and CHAS.