Helping Herts

Helping Herts is Hertfordshire’s leading unrestricted funder, connecting communities with 12 local children and young people’s charities through a single, streamlined relationship. We raise money to help these charities deliver more services to those in need. Hertfordshire appears a prosperous place where there is strong education system, family friendly environment with reasonable socioeconomic conditions. However, Hertfordshire is a “county of contrasts” with pockets of deprivation, relative poverty and social issues. The reality is that there is continuing rise in: mental health issues among teenagers, with statutory services not meeting demand. Youth homelessness, where many young people are facing hidden homelessness, which is the lack of a safe, stable and permanent home. There are over 1,000 children in care. More than 10,000 young people have significant additional needs recognised in an Educational Health and Care Plan. Barnardo’s found as high as 1 in 11 children are growing up in poverty. Hertfordshire faces an escalating challenge. Youth violence, county lines exploitation, and school exclusions are rising, with over 6,000 offences involving under-18s recorded annually. Young people are increasingly both the victims and perpetrators of harm, driven by inequality, exclusion, and a lack of positive opportunities.