CASE STUDIES · Change-makers

Refugee Youth Service

From ‘The Jungle’
to independence

From three volunteers with a football in a French refugee camp, to changing the lives of thousands of young people.

Fund type

Collective Fund
(now charity)

Amount raised/granted

£1.25 million

Years

2015-2024

Background

The Refugee Youth Service (RYS) was established in “The Jungle” – a former refugee camp settlement in Calais. They set up a youth centre and safe space for the unaccompanied children residing in the camp. A space where young people could seek respite from their daily routines, and connect with the services that could enable them to move on.

Problem

When the refugee crisis hit Europe, RYS were one of over 80 groups supporting refugees who joined Prism as a Collective Fund.

Across three countries they provided Europe's most vulnerable children with protection, education, shelter, legal advice, psychological support and activities.

At the time they needed support with administration and governance so they could focus on delivering services on the ground and raising funds.

“With the support of Prism we were able to focus on delivering our work, without needing to use our limited resources to set-up and maintain a new charity of our own. This was particularly valuable given the size of the need in the contexts we were working. The Prism team were professional, supportive and encouraging throughout.”

–– Jonny Willis. Founder of Refugee Youth Service

Impact

Since 2017 they have worked with over 1200 young people per year.

In spring 2022 they launched their capacity-building and awareness-raising trainings to organisations and communities that support unaccompanied children in the UK. So far they’ve trained over 500 professionals who in turn have supported 1000s more children through this programme.

We are incredibly proud to have supported RYS’s work in their early days and to see how far they have come –especially now as they take the next step and as an independent charity.