A charity that aims to change the lives of vulnerable young people will close unless it can raise at least £3000,000 for a new site by Easter.
Change of Scene, which supports young people struggling with school by teaching them to care for animals, must move from its Farnham home.
Last December, the trustees were on the brink of signing a 20-year lease on a West Sussex site when previously undisclosed covenants forced them to withdraw.
Pam Robinson, chief executive, said: “We’d been talking to site’s landowner since May and this had never arisen but suddenly we discovered that the family who once owned the land had shooting rights over it and weren’t prepared to waive them. We had no choice but to withdraw on safety grounds.
“It was not pleasant telling the staff, volunteers, parents and children but they are all behind us in trying to raise the money to find a new place.
“We know it is a long shot, but we have to try. We have been going for 17 years and we have a waiting list of children wanting to come to us.”
Change of Scene supports young people who are not coping in school, teaching them horticulture and to look after animals on the charity’s farm.
Pam said: “We work with children with some of the most complex needs, children who can’t work in groups so need one-to-one support; they are very anxious and withdrawn and may rarely leave the house.
“They often feel that they are failures and we can give then the opportunity to learn, discover what they are interested in, regain confidence. Seventy-five per cent of them return to school and it changes them and their families.”
She cited one 15 year old who came to Change of Scene in August 2022.
“She had high anxiety and had been hospitalised several times for self-harm. She was covered in scars and was really struggling to access education,” she said.
“On the first day she was obviously very anxious being around unfamiliar people but we supported her gently and she decided to stay. Suddenly she looked calm and comfortable. She came back again and then we invited her back in the autumn and the next spring.
“Then she asked if she could be a volunteer in summer 2023. After the first day she was working with our 16 species of animals, she was confident and proactive.
“She learned how to arrange flowers to sell, and we gave her another volunteer to teach. Now she is working for us in a paid job on Saturdays.”
That young worker will lose her job next year if Change of Scene does not find a new home, and dozens like her will be denied the life-changing opportunity to learn and grow in confidence so that they can return to education.
The charity has a crowdfunding page, which can be visited here www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/change-of-scene-securing-the-future.