£30,000 grant will let Latch give more people a roof over their head

It’s a shocking fact that 26,000 people in Leeds need proper homes yet 4,000 houses lie empty.

- by Harriet Sutton

Now, nonprofit making organisation Latch has received £30,000 in unrestricted funding from Leeds Building Society to continue providing long-term supported accommodation and community outreach to those affected by homelessness, addiction and social isolation.

Founded in 1989, Latch was set up to work on derelict empty properties with homeless volunteers to create their own housing. Between 1990 and 2024 it transformed 110 empty properties in Leeds into homes, helping more than 600 adults and children to have a positive new start in the past ten years, including supporting over 240 tenants to move on to independent living.