Our Legacy
For over two decades, Pathways to Independence has remained at the forefront of positive change. We’ve supported more than 1,000 young people through housing and specialist services, helped thousands engage in education, and shaped national practice and policy through best-practice research and advocacy
We have supported young people who faced some of the most difficult circumstances — from unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in the UK to care-experienced young people making the transition to adulthood.
Founded in 2003, PTI began as a specialist provider of supported accommodation. Over the years, we worked with hundreds of young refugees, asylum seekers, and young people with complex histories, building trusted partnerships with local authorities and agencies across the South East.
Our work combined safe housing, holistic support, and trauma-informed practice, helping young people to find stability, independence, and belonging. Along the way, we developed pioneering tools such as the UASC Outcome Star – Planning Star™, which has been used nationally to support young people in articulating their progress and needs.
Over 22 years, PTI became recognised as a leader in good practice — delivering training, sharing knowledge, and influencing systemic change to improve outcomes for young people. Our achievements include:
✦ Supporting more than 1,000 young people with housing and specialist services
✦ Achieving consistently high education engagement and strong independent living outcomes
✦ Developing best-practice tools that shaped national policy and support for young refugees
✦ Leading systemic change through research, training, and co-produced initiatives
In March 2025, we closed our supported accommodation services, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Today, we carry forward this legacy through:
✦ PTI (UK) CIC – community projects that build on our experience of mentoring, outreach, and amplifying lived experience.
✦ PTI (UK) Property – managing spaces with social purpose, ensuring sustainability and support for future work.
Our history grounds us in credibility and experience. Our future is about building on that foundation — creating new, lighter, and more flexible ways of supporting inclusion, belonging, and justice.
One Future Different Pathways
“My real journey started with Pathways when I felt I could really be the person I wanted to. Pathways helped me see the bright light, the pathway clearly. I felt like I was going from zero to something, from dark to light and from emptiness to fulfilment.”
— Pathways Young Person
What PTI Has Achieved Over 22 Years
Since its founding in 2003, Pathways to Independence has delivered a wide range of impactful services for young people facing exclusion, disadvantage, and systemic barriers. Across more than two decades, our achievements include:
✦ Specialist Accommodation & Support – Delivered OFSTED-registered supported accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and care-experienced young people, creating safe, trauma-informed environments.
✦ Volunteer Development – Created a Gold Standard in Volunteering model, training both young people and staff in co-produced community initiatives that built skills, confidence, and belonging.
✦ Community Partnerships – Partnered with leading organisations including the Refugee Council, the Hummingbird Project, and the Global Social Youth Club to create safe spaces, arts programs, and social activities for young refugees and asylum seekers.
✦ Fundraising Initiatives – Secured support for mentoring, education, and creative projects that enhanced opportunities for young people to grow and thrive.
✦ Advocacy & Campaigns – Engaged in public campaigns, vigils, and media work to raise awareness of young asylum seekers and care-experienced youth, and to advocate for fairer policies.
✦ Bespoke Youth Programmes – Designed and delivered creative and participatory projects, from photography workshops to outdoor experiences and mentoring schemes, always tailored to young people’s strengths and interests.
✦ Youth-Led Co-Production – Ran focus groups and participatory projects, ensuring that young people’s voices shaped services, policy, and program design.
✦ Best Practice Research – Contributed to national UASC best practice research, including:
• National Transfer Scheme Evaluation
• Strategic Legal Fund research into asylum decision-making delays
• Home Office consultations on care standards for UASC
✦ Systemic Influence – Developed pioneering tools such as the UASC Outcome Star – Planning Star™, initiated by PTI and co-created with Triangle Consulting and the Home Office, now used nationally to help young people articulate their progress and needs.
Over 22 years, PTI has been recognised as a leader in good practice — trusted by local authorities and partners, delivering training, sharing knowledge, and influencing systemic change. This legacy continues through PTI CIC and PTI Property, as we build new ways of supporting inclusion, belonging, and justice.
“I respect Pathways because if I need help they always support me and look out for what is best for me”
- Pathways young person