Housing Plus is launching a pioneering initiative aimed at tackling a lesser known, but deeply impactful form of deprivation: cultural poverty. Their project, Against Cultural Poverty, is redefining what support means for young people who have faced displacement, trauma, or systemic disadvantage – particularly care leavers and asylum-seeking youth.
Chris, HP’s founding director explains: “We already excel at the support fundamentals, academically, emotionally, practically and through enrichment, but success in life often hinges on something more invisible: cultural capital. And that’s where we are challenging the inequality.”
Cultural poverty refers to the lack of access to the kinds of experiences, knowledge, and confidence that often silently shape social mobility. While academic and emotional support remain core to Housing Plus’ mission, Against Cultural Poverty aims to address the deeper, often overlooked gap – the absence of exposure to the arts, travel, sports, and cultural literacy that many more privileged young people take for granted.
The project was inspired following a successful collaboration with Young Roots, establishing a youth club for asylum-seeking young people n Brent, North-West London. The club has grown into a dynamic space where youth can participate in enrichment activities, weekly meet-ups, residential away trips, and community events – fun opportunities that had once seemed unimaginable. One of the most striking outcomes came from simply listening. “The young people told us they’d never been on a holiday,” Chris recalls. “Through Young Roots we were able to offer a residential to Jamie’s Farm.”
The realisation led HP to develop Against Cultural Poverty an intentional programme of culturally enriching experiences co-design with its young people. For football enthusiasts, this will mean attending live matches and joining local football clubs. For others, it could mean trips to the Royal Opera House and theatre productions, film clubs, drama and dance workshops, and more.
“These are the kinds of experiences that build confidence as well as making great memories,” says Chris. “When a young person can speak about ballet, or football or theatre in an interview or social setting – that’s real empowerment. We want residents of HP to leave with more than life skills; we’re working to equip them with a sense of belonging and fluency in the cultural narratives that shape our society.”
The Against Cultural Poverty initiative is more than a programme – it’s a movement that challenges traditional notions of care. It argues that dignity and equity come not just from meeting basic needs, but from offering every young person the chance to participate fully in the richness of life.
For Housing Plus Supported Accommodation, the message is clear: the fight against poverty isn’t complete until it includes the fight for culture, confidence, and connection.