Quarriers’ Home and Belonging service provides practical skills such as DIY and cooking on a budget.

Young people with experience of the care system are being helped to make their houses feel like homes thanks to a new project from care charity Quarriers.

The Home and Belonging service provides youngsters with the practical skills they need to maintain a tenancy such as DIY and cooking on a budget, while also encouraging them to create a sense of belonging within their community.

Activities such as upcycling, volunteering and engaging in mental health support are also provided through the service, which is open to care-experienced people between the ages of 16 and 25.

Quarriers hopes the service, based in Renfrewshire, will help new tenants take ownership of their homes and become more involved in their communities.

Samantha Pearson, the service’s life coach, said: “We are really excited to introduce a service which we were able to plan around feedback from young people.

“We heard about how young people felt that they had no sense of ownership over their homes, and felt isolated from their community – we wanted to bring together a collaborative of organisations who could provide personalised support for young people experiencing these issues.

“Through our successful Coaching For Life model, we will utilise person-centred planning, help to recognise values of personal importance, identify every young person’s strengths and, crucially, support positive change in behaviour in order to achieve success.”

The new service is a collaboration between Quarriers and partner organisations including Recovery Across Mental Health, Impact Arts, Engage Renfrewshire, West College Scotland and Renfrewshire Council.

It will support care-experienced people who receive, or are eligible to receive Section 29 funding and who are referred via Throughcare.