Not for profit charity Emerging Futures has secured a loan from Social and Sustainable Capital (SASC), from its Social and Sustainable Housing fund (SASH), to expand and improve its housing portfolio.

Emerging Futures provides emergency and transitional supported housing for vulnerable people and this ranges from people suffering from substance misuse, mental health problems and homelessness.

What Emerging Futures do

Emerging Futures was founded in 2014 and they currently provide 233-bed spaces for people across the UK. The accommodation is leased from private landlords, local authorities, and registered housing providers, and Emerging Futures aims to bridge the gap between homelessness and stable accommodation.

Emerging Futures encourages its residents to engage with a range of local health, social care, and behavioural change programmes to help them towards recovery and independent living.

What Emerging Futures plan to do with the loan

Emerging Futures will use the loan to purchase up to ten properties, which will be two three-bed and eight four-bed homes. These properties will be bought to support people who are provided for under existing local authority contracts in East Cheshire, Lancashire, and Hertfordshire.

With the new properties, the charity will be able to help more people in need of their services and also meet the different needs of those who require their help. The loan will also help Emerging Futures to have properties for emergency housing and follow on accommodation.

Emerging Futures will continue to work with local authorities and private landlord partners, therefore some properties will be owned by them and some leased.

Ray Jenkins, chief executive of Emerging Futures, says: “We work with some of the most marginalised people in society. Having a safe place where they are proud to live together with holistic support is the first step in their recovery as it improves their self-worth, builds their resilience, and motivates behaviour change.”

Jenkins adds: “This loan from SASC will secure our business model and ensure we can continue to supply high quality, well-maintained homes, where people can connect, achieve and thrive.”

Jenkins continues: “We plan to use the money to benefit the people we already work with so we will be buying some properties we currently rent from private landlords. One of the main benefits of the loan is that it will help us to secure and future proof our operations and business and cement our work with partners. Working with the team at SASC was a great experience – they are highly supportive, engaged and they share our values and ethos.”

Ben Rick, chief executive officer of SASC says: “Emerging Futures is a fast-growing organisation who are experts in helping vulnerable people overcome addiction and other problems and reintegrating them into society. This loan will enable them to broaden their portfolio, secure their supply housing for people who need it most and put them in a strong position to expand their work into new regions in the future.”

The loan given to Emerging Futures marks SASC’s 11th investment from the SASH fund. SASH was co-designed with borrower charities whose work with vulnerable people was being hindered due to a  lack of access to secure and suitable housing.