Specsavers increases support for its homelessness programme

Specsavers has announced teen homelessness charity, EveryYouth, as the sixth organisation to join its homelessness programme.

EveryYouth is dedicated to helping young people experiencing homelessness across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, supporting over 40,000 young people annually. The UK-wide charity helps 16- to 25-year-olds with employability, health and housing support.

Specsavers launched its homelessness programme in 2022, and today has partnerships with Crisis, Big Issue, Vision Care, Simon Community (in Northern Ireland), and Focus Ireland

Through Specsavers’ homelessness programme’s Charity VIP scheme, young people supported by EveryYouth will receive access to free eye and ear health care at the multiple’s practices across the UK.

This new partnership builds on the success of Specsavers’ involvement with EveryYouth’s Project Flourish, an initiative created in collaboration with recruitment and workforce solutions provider Hays, which aims to create employment opportunities for young people who have faced homelessness.

Specsavers’ homelessness programme project lead, Jo Osborne, said: “We know that homelessness disproportionately affects young people, so we’re grateful to be working with EveryYouth to provide free eye and ear health care via our Charity VIP scheme and also to offer employment opportunities through Project Flourish.”

CEO of EveryYouth, Nicholas Connolly, added: “Health and employment are inextricably linked to living independently. The young people we support have immense potential. This partnership is already making a tangible difference helping young people to leave homelessness behind so they can live a life they are proud of.”

Since 2022, Specsavers has invested more than £3 million into the homelessness sector. Through its charity partnership, in particular its partnership with Vision Care, it has supported more than 6000 people experiencing homelessness.