We’re so proud to be celebrating 40 years of Streetlife, and we wanted to share a bit more about our history with you.
Streetlife is a youth work charity established by the town centre churches: St John’s CofE, North Shore Methodist, Sacred Heart, and St Kentigern’s Catholic Churches. It was officially registered as a charity in 1984.
What we do at Streetlife
At Streetlife, we offer a range of services for young people who are dealing with homelessness in Blackpool. Here are a few of our services.
The Base: The Base is a place where vulnerable young people can come to relax, learn skills and connect with others. Our fantastic team works hard to ensure that all visitors are comfortable and have what they need. We understand the worry that homelessness can bring, so we always provide a warm, healthy meal and a listening ear.
The Shelter: The Shelter is our overnight space where all visitors can relax and get a good night’s sleep. Guests have access to their own bedroom, a living area, kitchen and bathroom. We always strive to ensure that all guests feel safe when staying with us.
Life Skills Sessions: We offer a monthly programme with a wide range of activities. All young people aged 16-25 can access these in drop in. These can include activities such as:
- Cook and Eat sessions
- Money management
- Wellbeing and mindfulness
- Be Creative sessions
- Art Therapy
- Duke of Edinburgh
- CV writing
- Property searches
- Work searches
- Training
- Awareness sessions
- Inclusions Sessions
Our purpose
Our purpose is, and always has been, to provide support and shelter to vulnerable and often homeless young people aged 16-25 in Blackpool and surrounding areas. It was hoped that this would not need to be a long-term solution to youth homelessness, yet sadly, it is still a service that is desperately needed.
Our current Nightshelter opened in 2004. Before this, we provided support to homeless young people in a converted air-raid shelter at the same location. The new £1.5m building was created to provide extra emergency beds to meet the ever-growing needs of young people in Blackpool.
Streetlife meets royalty
Princess Diana visited in 1991, and it was such an honour and a privilege for our team and young people to meet her. She showed a genuine interest and empathy for the work we do.
Princess Anne visited in 2013 when it was a tricky time for our service after funding cuts threatened the future of our provision. The Princess Royal described it as “a vital service”, which still applies today.
Funding Streetlife
We rely on the incredible local community to help us offer our services. Over the years, we have been supported by the amazing National Lottery Fund and have even held our own events and got the local community involved.
Each year, we hold a Sleepout, inviting the local community to spend the night sleeping outside the Night Shelter. This gives a very small insight into what life can be like for some of our young people.
These events have been a huge success, raising thousands of pounds for some of the most vulnerable people in the area. We are so proud to have raised these funds to continue offering our vital services. You can find out more about the Big SleepOut 2025 here.
We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years – we are extremely grateful. We are dedicated to supporting the local community in every way that we can.
Here are some very kind words from some of our staff members, volunteers and supporters, all of which we are extremely grateful for.
“Working there for nearly 4 years – I learnt the most I’ve ever learnt in that short time and met the most amazing young people, volunteers and youth workers. Streetlife is a really beautiful place and the Fylde Coast is incredibly lucky to have an organisation like it. When I ever return and that’s not many times it feels like home. Thank you Streetlife.”
“Happy Birthday/Anniversary, the difference you make to our young people’s lives is as outstanding as it is underrated. Here’s to the next 40 years!”
