Homes for Students: Our Force For Good
As an accommodation provider, we understand the importance of a student’s living space upon their university experience which is why our spaces are created with young people in mind. From our property facilities to our helpful on-site teams, we want you to become the best version of yourself and have a positive wellbeing whilst living with us during your university years.
You can find out more about our Force For Good within this post from our wellbeing support within our properties to our specially designed spaces and facilities to our charity work and fundraisers to our diversity and equality values. Don’t stop here, carry on reading!
Our Support
University is a time for young people to find themselves, experience new places, meet new people and discover new things. However, this exciting time is not without its challenges which in turn can impact upon a student’s wellbeing.
From the stress of achieving certain grades and goals at university, to managing your own money, to trying to gain experience within your career sector, there really are a lot of obstacles to go through.
We understand that our students face many challenges during their university years and Homes for Students is committed to supporting student wellbeing. Many of our on-site team members have attended a Mental Health First Aid course, delivered by a trainer registered with Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA England). We often work closely with partners from universities, students’ unions and charities, allowing on-site teams to support our residents during their stay in our accommodation.
Our Facilities
Our property facilities have a strong focus on student wellbeing. From our friendly communal spaces which allow students to relax and socialise with other like-minded people, to our spacious outside spaces to our bedrooms which enable our students to unwind during their free time with their own comfortable space and focus on themselves (we love self-care).
You can also focus on your academic commitments within our properties with our dedicated study spaces, forget about worrying about a quiet space to crack on with work. Some of our properties also have on-site gyms so you can exercise and focus on your health and wellbeing.
We told you we wanted you to be your best self-right? Well, a variety of our properties also have communal kitchen spaces where you can touch up your culinary skills and have a cookout with your pals!
Not to mention, we put on some great social events within our properties like welcome parties, special seasonal events for Christmas, Pride Month, Valentine’s Day, Red Nose Day. Chinese New Year and Pancake Day to name a few.
Along with book clubs, movie nights and game nights where you can meet other people within your accommodation building and make new friends!
There’s so much going on within our properties that students can get involved with, have fun and promote a positive wellbeing. We can’t wait to welcome our new students for the next academic year filled with good times – it’s going to be great!
Our Charity Work
We’re not just saying it you know, we really do work with partners to help support our students in every way that we can. We work closely with Student minds which if you haven’t already heard of it, is the UK’s leading student mental health charity.
This brilliant charity does so much for the student community such as by helping provide education and information about mental-health issues, giving students the confidence and skills to manage their own well-being and help support others. To find out more about the work that the charity does, you can go to their website here.
Within all of our properties we provide wellbeing resources from the charity to help our students manage their mental health, with tips to help with their well-being during student life and where they can find professional support. We’re so happy to be transforming student mental health together!
Along with providing support for Student Minds, as a company HFS also takes part in fundraising events across the year like cake sales, raffles, charity walks and sports events.
Just recently in May, 38 people from the HFS team took part in the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. Those involved climbed the biggest peaks in Yorkshire, which spans a massive 25 miles and raised over £14,000 for the charity through the challenge – it’s simply amazing right?!
From fundraising events and challenges like these, this year alone, we have raised over £22,000 for Student Minds and we can’t wait to carry on fundraising even more in the future with more exciting things to come – woo!
Diversity & Equality At HFS
Here at HFS we focus on creating a student community that reflects the UK’s diversity and vibrancy, as well as ensuring our workplaces are welcoming to people of all backgrounds, beliefs and ethnicities.
We value individuality and want everyone to feel like they belong when they stay with us, which is why we’ve now collaborated with The Safe Space Alliance. Making all of our properties recognised ‘Safe Spaces’ which ensures that students that identity as LGBTQI+ feel safe and secure in our properties, you can read more about this here.
Together is Better is our diversity and inclusion group which includes members from across the company who concentrate on driving a force for good. They organise a variety of inclusive events and campaigns including Pride Month, Black History Month and International Women’s Day.
It doesn’t stop there; we’re committed to going further and further with our diversity and inclusivity so, watch this space!