Hope at Home is marking its eighth birthday this week, celebrating eight years of offering safety, dignity and stability to survivors of modern slavery across the UK.
Headquartered in the West Midlands and founded with a simple but powerful idea – that a safe home can be the foundation for recovery after exploitation – the charity has grown from hosting its very first guest, Sarah*, into a national organisation supporting survivors through a combination of hosting, wellbeing support and, more recently, a developing supported housing pilot.
Over the past eight years, Hope at Home has:
• Provided over 14,000 nights of safe accommodation, equivalent to nearly 40 years of safe sleep for survivors
• Delivered 101 hosting placements, supporting 97 individual guests
• Trained 158 volunteer hosts, equipping them to provide safe homes
• Supported survivors with counselling, travel assistance, gym access, advice and financial support to help rebuild independence
Each placement is carefully matched and time-limited, with clear boundaries and ongoing support for both guests and hosts. Survivors are offered a stable environment where they can rest, access services, build routines and take steps towards independent living such as finding work.
One survivor, Dodzi*, arrived with his hosts after escaping exploitation. He had face the risk of street homelessness. With no safe place to stay, he was referred to Hope at Home and matched with a trained volunteer host. During his time in hosting, Dodzi was able to sleep safely, access counselling, attend appointments, volunteer locally and begin rebuilding confidence and routine. With the stability provided by a safe home, he later moved on into independent accommodation, taking an important step towards rebuilding his life.
He said: “My whole experience [with Hope at Home] was fantastic. I had a home that felt like a home, rather than an institution.”
From the charity’s earliest days hosting its first guest to where it stands now, Hope at Home’s journey reflects a growing recognition across the sector that safe accommodation truly is critical for recovery. Survivors of modern slavery often face homelessness after leaving exploitation, despite having endured significant harm.
Looking ahead, Hope at Home is expanding its work through a supported housing pilot, enabling the charity to provide additional safe homes and respond to the increasing demand for accommodation for survivors across the UK.
As the charity marks its eighth anniversary, the focus remains firmly on the future – growing capacity, strengthening partnerships and ensuring that more survivors have access to a place that feels like a home, not an institution – just as Dodzi said.
Names and details have been changed to protect privacy.
