Young people at SHP’s Farnborough House hostel welcomed Nick Grimshaw and the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast team to brunch as part of #1MillionHours.

Farnborough House hostel in Lewisham provides short term accommodation for young people with a wide range of needs – while some are leaving care or custody, others have been recently estranged from their families; many have struggled with substance addiction or poor mental health; others have been ‘sofa surfing’ or may even have spent time on the street.

Nick and the breakfast team joined the residents for their regular brunch club. The club learned how to make an omelette from left overs, and had a lively discussion about how they came to live at Farnborough House, how they spend their time and their hopes and ambitions for the future. 

Nick Grimshaw said: “It was great to contribute and see first-hand how SHP staff use their time and how they need our help. It was really rewarding. Definitely something I’d do again.”

Vanessa Hemmings, Assistant Director of Services who oversees SHPs Young People Services, said: “Farnborough House is a safe place where young people can take time to work out what they want in their lives, and how they focus their energies in a positive way. We take the time to build safe, supportive relationships with all our residents, and help put the ground work in for those first steps to be made. It’s been a real pleasure to welcome Nick Grimshaw and the BBC Radio 1 breakfast team to Farnborough House today, I’m sure that the visit has helped to inspire some of our residents and help them look forward to the future.”

#1MillionHours is BBC Radio 1 & BBC Radio 1Xtra’s year-long campaign to get #1Million Hours of volunteering pledged to good causes. So far 600,000 hours pledged since the launch in December 2015.