At 18, the support stops. For young people who are care-experienced, excluded from school, LGBT+, or living with learning disabilities, that moment can arrive across several systems at once. Since 2010, youth services have been cut by 76 to 80% in some parts of England. What remains is fragmented, short
term, and organised around crisis rather than potential.

Core Memories backs organisations that show up at the moment statutory support steps away. It starts with a different question. Not: what has gone wrong? But: what helps young people thrive?  Research on Positive Childhood Experiences shows that access to a trusted adult, a sense of belonging, and a genuine say in decisions are not extras. They are the conditions that protect young people and build independence over time. Yet funding has long required organisations to evidence damage before support arrives.  Core Memories invests before the crisis, not after.

The fund commits £3 million over three years, delivered through YPF Trust’s network of place-based Young People’s Foundations. Grants of between £5,000 and £25,000 will reach an estimated 170 to 513 grassroots organisations across six areas: Merton, Dorset, Kirklees, Stockton-on-Tees, Medway, and
Staffordshire. A youth worker who knows your name. Access to sport, arts, community. A place where you belong before things fall apart. Core Memories funds organisations doing exactly that work, in the places where it’s needed most.

The model builds on work pioneered by John Lyon’s Charity, which established the first Young People’s Foundation in Brent in 2014. YPF Trust was created in 2019 to take that model national. The network now spans nearly 70 foundations across England.