Supporting Young People’s Wellbeing and Employment Through Sheffield’s Youth Hubs
Sheffield Futures is pleased to announce two new partnerships with Sheffield’s Community Youth Hubs, running from now until March 2026, funded by South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SYICB) as part of the Health and Growth Accelerator under South Yorkshire’s Pathways to Work system.
The Health and Growth Accelerator aims to integrate employment and health support, ensuring people can stay in or return to work while improving overall workforce wellbeing. Young people are a priority area for the Accelerator, with 15% of 16-24-year-olds not in any form of education, work or training, and young people displaying the poorest mental health of any age group.
Funding from the SYICB will enable us to bring Door 43 into the Community Youth Hubs across Sheffield, as well as delivery at our central Star House base. The programmes are both focused on supporting young people who are struggling to gain employment or who are at risk of becoming economically inactive due to mental health challenges.
1. Early Intervention Mental Health Support
Delivered through our Door 43 Early Support Hub, this project places Early Intervention Mental Health Practitioners within Sheffield’s Community Youth Hubs and at Star House to offer preventative mental health support to young people aged 16 to 24.
Through one-to-one and group sessions, we’ll provide a safe, non-judgmental space where young people can share how they’re feeling, build confidence, and develop strategies to manage their wellbeing.
Our practitioners work closely with partners to make sure each young person receives the right support at the right time. If a young person’s needs fall outside of Door 43’s remit, we’ll connect them to the most appropriate service through our citywide referral networks – bolstered by our new Peer Connector service.
2. Peer Connectors
Peer Connectors offer a friendly, relatable and young-person centered service, helping young people to access specialist interventions that build confidence, social connection and wellbeing. By taking a ‘hand-holding’ approach, they ensure every young person feels supported to stay engaged and make meaningful progress.
Undertaking strength-based assessments together with young people, Peer Connectors will co-create personalised support plans to support young people into employment or education based on what matters to them. Once the plan has been created, the Peer Connectors will work alongside the young person to take the next steps together.
Our Peer Connectors will be based across key community locations including the Sheffield Wednesday Community Youth Hub, The Sheffield College City Campus, Sheaf College and Star House. Working both in-person and digitally, we help young people explore their aspirations, overcome barriers, and take practical steps towards positive futures.
Why is this work important?
1 in 8 young people (16-24) in South Yorkshire are not in education, employment or training – a figure that is increasing year-on-year and is above the national average. Meanwhile, 2 in 5 young people cite mental health or disability as the reason they are unable to work. This is a problem only exacerbated by the growing prevalence of mental health issues amongst young people, placing pressure on NHS waiting lists and resulting in more young people dropping out of employment or training. We know that meaningful work has positive impacts on wellbeing – from providing structure and routine to developing our social circles and providing us with financial stability. Through these partnerships, we aim to break down barriers to good work for young people and improve their mental health.
Together, with Sheffield City Council, the DWP, South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and local youth partners, we’re helping young people build resilience, improve their mental health and take positive steps towards education, training and employment.
Note: Sheffield’s Community Youth Hubs are run by Sheffield City Council and the Department for Work and Pensions. A full list of the Hub locations and delivery partners can be found here.