Vision
Aim
Our Roots
Our Team
Love, Know, Root, Grow.
We believe every young person deserves a place to belong. Our vision is to create a home where nurturing, support and love are the core values, providing a safe and caring environment for vulnerable 16-17 year olds in Somerset to grow into their future.
Our Vision
To create a home where nurturing, supporting and love are the core values; where young people who have no place to go can live and be rooted in a home community where they are valued, cared for and encouraged to reach their adult potential to step into a better future. We work in Somerset to provide a safe home and to encourage our young people to be part of the community in which they live.
Our Aim
There is a situation in Somerset where there are around 30 ‘forgotten’ young people who have no place to call home. These are children aged 16-17 who cannot access the normal support routes and are living in temporary accommodation or out of county and need to return to their home community and find a permanent place to be.
Our aim is to provide a safe, caring home for 6-8 of these young people where they can be nurtured, supported and feel wanted in order for them to grow into the young adults they have the potential to be. Working with local partners to provide an all-round service for these young people will enable them to focus on a normal home life - perhaps or maybe Sunday roast around the kitchen table or football in the park with friends: these are things that every other 16/17 year old is doing and we want this for the ‘forgotten’ young people who are part of our communities.
Our Roots
Jane Copestake worked with older young people for about 9 years before making a conscious decision to focus on 16–17 year olds through a number of different projects. In doing so, she discovered young people facing some of life's toughest challenges—young people who are often left without suitable options and find themselves on the margins of support systems.
Jane says,
“It’s easy to offer a home to a young person whose needs can be met through existing services, but so much harder to find homes for those who struggle to find a home able to meet their needs, or whose needs existing providers may feel unequipped to support.They have just as much value and worth—God loves them all just the same. Why can’t these young people have a home too?”
From these thoughts came the vision for ROOTS South West: to welcome vulnerable young people into a home where they can be loved and nurtured through a very difficult period of their lives, and given the chance to find their passion and place in the world.
ROOTS South West has begun to do exactly that. Our aim is to provide a 6–8 room house and invite some of these young people to be part of the ROOTS family, where we can offer them a ‘normal’ home life so they can grow and take their next steps into adulthood, with love and laughter along the way.
Jane has worked for many years with young people, both as a support worker and in managing multi-supported housing projects. Increasingly, Jane wanted to work with younger and more vulnerable young people who could not easily find a home where they would be cared for within their own community. Her passion that every young person matters and should be cared for and given the opportunity to thrive is the foundation of the vision for ROOTS South West.
Founder
Jane Copestake
Sue is an Accredited Integrative Counsellor with over twenty years' experience working with vulnerable people, particularly in the area of Addiction. She has also worked in young people's ministry in local churches for more than fifteen years. She lives in Somerset with her husband and their dog Alfie.
Sue Tidy
Trustee
Our Team
Sam has a wealth of experience as a property developer and has been involved in a number of larger building projects over the years. He is an active member of the local church and has always enthused and encouraged young people to achieve their potential. He wants to be involved in Roots to use his expertise to benefit the many young people who need a safe home and strong foundation to build their future.
Sam Oram
Trustee
Karen is a teacher and examiner and has worked with young people for many years at school and with the church youth group in a voluntary capacity. She has also worked with an Open House Community project helping the most vulnerable of the local community. She has a caring interest in the lives of young people and supports Roots with the vision of helping the most needy and pushed aside young people in Somerset.
Karen Oram
Trustee
Sue has always had a passion for young people. She has worked in several areas with children and young people in a residential setting. Sue has seen how encouraging and caring support can transform a young person's self image and confidence, and wants to be part of designing and developing a service that is truly person - centered. Sue’s passion and care from others comes from her experience of God’s love in her own life.
Sue Crossman
Trustee
Tony is a professional engineer with a degree in Engineering Production and Economics from the University of Birmingham. In his early career, he worked in a number of managerial roles in engineering factories. Tony has several years’ experience as a trustee of a charity that provided accommodation for youth groups and children’s missions. In his spare time Tony enjoys woodworking.
Tony Burton
Treasurer