We are a female-led organisation working to build the first post-16 semi-independent non-profit housing with holistic support.
Meet our Founder & CEO Warda Mohamed
Our Founder & CEO Warda is a Somali-British social entrepreneur who grew up in London being the firstborn of refugee parents. Warda often found herself feeling isolated and her culture misunderstood. She was the first generation who grew up in the UK in her family and seeing her family and herself being othered made Warda passionate about creating change for herself, her family and everyone else systematically minoritised or othered.
Warda got a degree in Marketing & Communications to use the power of communications to create change for those who are not heard, supported or misunderstood. Over 10 years in different roles from residential worker to her current role as the CEO, Warda has campaigned for the rights of refugees, young people, and people with disabilities.
Warda founded Lasting Support Homes because she believes that children in care deserve safe & non-institutional housing which should be a base for young people in care to build happy lives.
We are building a unique home for post-16 children in care and here’s why:
The majority of semi-independent housing in the UK doesn’t provide holistic educational and therapeutic support to young people. Most of these accommodations do not have a “home” feeling to them and further traumatise young people in care system.
We apply an evidence-based approach to ensure that everything from the policies, physical environment, language and approach is trauma-informed. Our home is designed to be therapeutic, calming, and nonclinical because our residents deserve a safe and non-institutional approach in their care journey.
There were 5,980 children looked after (CLA) aged 16 to 17 living independently or in semi-independent living accommodations in 2021. This is equivalent to almost a third of all CLA aged 16 to 17 (32%). Around three quarters were aged 17 while one quarter were 16 for both independent and semi-independent living accommodation. 41% of children in care are not in education, employment or training.
*GOV.UK report