YMCA Youth Advice Centre (YAC) in Brighton - YMCA DownsLink Group

Youth Advice Centre (YAC) Brighton

Contact Information and Opening Times

You can pop into the Youth Advice Centre and speak to a member of the team at the following times:  

  • Housing Advice: Monday – Friday 9am-12pm 
  • Housing Emergencies (homeless tonight): Monday – Friday 1pm-3pm 
  • Support and Advice: Monday – Thursday 3pm-6pm / Friday 3pm-4:30pm 

Ways to get in touch:

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The YMCA Youth Advice Centre (YAC) offers advice, support and guidance to young people in Brighton and Hove. The YAC team are able to offer expertise on a wide range of topics. Our aim is to provide young people in the local area with a safe and friendly environment where they can access helpful advice and support. 

We are the first place to go for housing advice for anyone under 26 years old who is homeless or threatened with homelessness. We also offer a Family Support & Mediation Service and a Support & Advice Service providing sexual health advice and services, emotional and wellbeing support and benefits and money advice. 

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Support and Advice at YAC

The Support & Advice service is a safe space where any young person aged 13-25 can talk to a worker one to one and receive the support around a wide range of topics including:

Access to the C Card (free condoms) scheme and relationship support. HIV, STI and Chemsex awareness support and referral pathways. 

Anger management advice, self-esteem support, self-harm, stress and anxiety, bullying support and help accessing mental health support and counselling. Support around ADHD and ASC referral for finding appropriate support and advice accessing GP and additional services. Advocacy support to access additional statutory and non-statutory services. 

Help filling in forms and support to make claims, budgeting and money management advice and help to access specialist benefit support. Support accessing ID and relevant information to enable access to appropriate support. Gambling support. 

Support completing CV's, job applications and searches, finding training and education, support accessing well-being teams, learning support mentors and referring to other appropriate services. Support with accessing transport for education. We support young people with accessing volunteering opportunities. Cooking classes with potential for additional training. Local training schemes and job opportunities. 

Partner with external organisations to support funding and financial crisis for young people, in-house support accessing funding for essential items, food, energy bills and additional support. We offer a direct referral pathway to access funding through Brighton and Hove City Council and the Community Hub, completing referrals for Local Discretionary Social Fund, Housing Support Fund, Lift-Up Fund and Food Bank referrals - if you are unable to be supported by our Food Market project. 

We work in partnership with multiple organisations and are a direct referral pathway for all forms of support outside of housing.

Mental Health Support Co-ordinator

Mental Health Support Coordinators (MHSCs) at The Youth Advice Centre work with young people aged 18-25, providing one-to-one support with a youth specific caseworker, providing a co-ordinated and holistic approach to mental health and well-being. Our support aims to engage young people who need support in multiple areas of their lives, not just their mental health. Our MHSC will help you to overcome barriers to accessing support from services relating to mental health. Our co-ordinated approach will support with accessing services relating to physical health work, education and employment, community and peer support, and building social networks. 

We offer support and advice to young people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, which includes looking for accommodation in the private rented sector, negotiating with landlords, offering realistic and up-to-date advice on housing and how to pay for it and referrals to specialist housing schemes. 

Find out more about Support & Advice 

A young person receiving mental health support

Housing Advice

We offer support and advice to young people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, which includes looking for accommodation in the private rented sector, negotiating with landlords, offering realistic and up-to-date advice on housing and how to pay for it, and referrals to specialist housing like Sussex Nightstop.

Find out more about our Housing Advice:

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YMCA shoot Brighton September 2020 -
Models used for shootFor more info contact: Ruth Cobb
Head of Marketing & CommunicationsT 01273 222583
M 07957 254 582
YMCA DOWNSLINK GROUP

Family Mediation

Family Mediation is for 14- to 25-year-olds providing a safe space to talk and to share how you are feeling with a trained mediator to support the process. Mediation supports and improves relationship breakdown and has been successful in preventing youth homelessness.

Find out more about Family Mediation - Click here.

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YMCA YAC Food Market

A Youth-Led sustainable social grocery store

If you are 16-25, live in Brighton and Hove, and seeking an affordable and sustainable way to shop locally or low waste, then YAC Food Market has something for you. The aim of this project is to support young people in accessing healthy, low-cost foods and shopping products at a simple one-stop shop – an easy way for young people to access locally produced

and supermarket surplus, providing a modern and sustainable approach to food waste and food poverty. YAC is keen to empower young people throughout the project, seeking volunteers, feedback, and inspiration for how YAC Food Market can reflect the needs of our community.

We are partnering with Brighton and Hove City Council, Brighton and Hove Food Partnership, FareShare Sussex, Neighbourly, Brighton and Hove Food Factory, and Sussex University.

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Privacy Notice

To see our privacy notice for young people using our services click here. 

Our information sharing document explains why we may need to share young people's information and how we do this. 

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YMCA enables people to develop their full potential in mind, body and spirit. Inspired by and faithful to our Christian values, we create supportive, inclusive and energising communities, where young people can truly belong, contribute and thrive.

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