Centre 33's flexible support really makes a difference

Centre 33 has purposefully designed a dynamic service offer that addresses health inequalities and the reality of young people’s needs. Their open access,drop-in offer is particularly effective at engaging young people who are often least likely to access traditional services. The drop-ins reach higher than comparative local data of young people with disabilities (58%), LGBTQ+ youngpeople (27%), living in supported or precarious housing (15%) and those from ethnic minority backgrounds (31%). 

Established in 1981, Centre 33 now operates five Early Support Hubs across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, supporting around 4,000 young people every year, including through their self-referral, open-access model. Centre 33’s services provide integrated support for mental health, wellbeing, caring roles, education,employment, housing, finances and wider life challenges. Their holistic support model recognises that young people rarely present with a single issue and addresses the factors that can prevent participation in education, employment or training. On average, young people accessing Centre 33 present with six interconnected needs, while 67% present with both practical and mental health needs.

Last year, 15% ofyoung people using the drop-in service were not in education, employment or training (NEET), compared with 2% of those accessing via a statutory referral route, demonstrating the value of flexible, self-referral support in overcoming barriers to access. Young people who were NEET and accessed Centre 33’s drop-in service presented with higher rates of self-harm, isolation, and trauma alongside other needs such as food or fuel poverty and housing insecurity, showing how NEET status is associated with a particularly concentrated pattern of emotional distress, practical needs, and structural pressures.

Outcomes at Centre 33 are encouraging. On average, around sixty per cent of young people accessing open-access support show improved mental health outcomes, while 97% report feeling listened to and 94% feel their concerns were taken seriously .Young people consistently highlight the importance of having a welcoming, flexible service that provides support including while waiting for specialist interventions and allows them to return whenever they need help.

You can read more about the impact in this piece featured by Youth Access.

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