We are deeply committed to Hackney’s young people, families, and community. All that we do is led by the needs and aspirations of local people, and by the capacity we have to support them. We don’t intend to ever move or expand beyond Hackney; it’s our home. Many of our staff were born and raised here, many have worked for Hackney Quest for more than a decade (or two!), and all share a love for this community.

As well as a brilliant team of dedicated staff, we also have nearly 100 volunteers giving their spare time to Hackney Quest — supporting and running youth sessions, supervising trips, fundraising, mentoring, cooking meals, providing people with advice and guidance, and so much more. Among our volunteers we have people of all ages, and people from a wide range of cultural, social and professional backgrounds. What brings them together is their shared commitment to Hackney’s young people, parents, families and community. We simply could not do what we do without our amazing volunteers!

We work with young people aged 8 to 19, and often we work with young people from when they’re 8 to when they’re 19 and beyond (as you can see on our <stories> page)! We know that you can’t support young people without also supporting parents, families, and the wider community. We often act as an extended family for our young people and parents, supporting them through multiple major life transitions and events. We work with young people and parents for as long as they need and want our help; we don’t have fixed thresholds for support, or fixed timescales for our work, we are led by those we work with. We aim to always communicate unconditional respect and care, within clear professional boundaries. Young people, parents and families who get involved with Hackney Quest feel loved.

We always aim to be as approachable as we can. Parents know that if they need a chat or some support, at any time, a staff member will always find the time to make them a drink and talk with them. As we’re an independent charity, not a statutory or a specialist service, we can be nimble and flexible in how we support people: we can work with multiple members of the same family, we can provide a mixture of mentoring, practical support, and informal advocacy, and we can adapt to young people’s and family’s changing needs over time.

We work closely and in partnership with other local youth organisations and with a range of local services, including social care, mental health services, Young Hackney, Youth Offending, and local schools. We work together with others to provide the best possible support for families that we can, as a team of professionals. In some cases, we’re the only organisation supporting a family. In other cases, there’s multiple organisations and a range of services involved. Whatever the situation, we are led by what the young person and the family need, and tailor our support so that we can best contribute to the team around them. We help young people, parents and families to navigate all the systems that affect their lives — the education system, social care system, immigration system, housing system, and more.

In our work supporting young people, parents and families, we never shy away from calling out injustice or pushing for change. We aim to always have positive and collaborative relationships with other services and institutions, but if need be, we will challenge other professionals where we think they are letting down those we are supporting. We get legal advice where needed to help us question and challenge school exclusions, support families through housing difficulties, help people to obtain British citizenship, and more. We also advocate for change in the local community, working alongside young people, parents, and other professionals: through our Hackney Wick Through Young Eyes report, for instance, we have been pushing for significant change to regeneration practices, to the local education system, and to perceptions of young people. We support other organisations such as Hackney Account in their campaigning for young people’s rights (in the case of Hackney Account, this is centred on policing and criminal justice). We will always fight for a fair, equal Hackney, in which young people, parents, families and the community live in the conditions they need to develop their potential.