Strides

What Strides does

Strides is a London-based registered charity (number 281929) and housing association (number LH3373) operating under the West London Mission Methodist Circuit Trust, with origins dating to 1887 when Katherine and Hugh Price Hughes founded the West London Mission. The organization was rebranded from WLM to Strides in 2023 while retaining its Methodist heritage. It delivers social housing, accommodation-based support, and counselling services to vulnerable populations including men leaving prison, UK Armed Forces veterans, youth aged 18-24 at risk of rough sleeping, working homeless individuals, keyworkers (nurses, teachers, police officers) priced out of London rents, LGBTIQ+ domestic abuse survivors, and adults seeking affordable long-term psychotherapy.

The operational footprint spans seven London locations: Katherine Price Hughes House (Ministry of Justice-approved premise delivering a 12-week reintegration programme for prison leavers), Cherry Tree House (trauma-informed veterans accommodation), Holly Park (26-bed pan-London youth emergency accommodation run with Depaul UK and New Horizon Youth Centre), Wincott Street Community Hub in Kennington (27 keyworker units plus partnership space), Highbury Counselling Centre in Finsbury Park (affordable psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy with sliding-scale fees from £20 per session), STAR Support (UK's first by-and-for LGBTIQ+ domestic abuse refuge funded by MOPAC), and the headquarters at 19 Thayer Street, Westminster. Sub-brands include HCC, KPH, Wincott Street Community Hub, and Cherry Tree House. The Sunday Sanctuary LGBTQ+ wellbeing hub launched in 2024 in partnership with Queerwell.

Strides generates revenue through four streams: individual donations (with Gift Aid), a Ministry of Justice contract for KPH, sliding-scale counselling fees at HCC, and space hire at its community hubs (with profits reinvested into services). The go-to-market is community-led and partnership-driven rather than technology-mediated; referrals come via Local Authorities, Westminster City Council, and partner charities. Service distribution is direct through owned facilities, supplemented by partner-delivered programmes co-located at Strides premises. The organization employs 21 staff and operates exclusively within London. No proprietary technology platform exists — service delivery is human-led with a WordPress website, email newsletter, and Conveenie room-booking system as the principal digital surfaces.

Name

Strides

Legal name

Strides Housing Association

Website

https://strides.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1887

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Strides is a London-based registered charity and housing association providing social housing, accommodation support, and affordable long-term counselling for vulnerable populations including prison leavers, veterans, at-risk youth, and keyworkers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Housing and Community Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Other Community Housing Services (624229), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGADAO

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGACAC

Community Health, Prevention & Health Education

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Health & Medical Nonprofits

SECONDARYBPAGADAF

Workforce Readiness, Career Pathways & Youth Employment Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

Keywords

• Social housing services
• Affordable counselling
• Community support
• Homelessness accommodation
• Reintegration programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations received through the website donation portal, with options for one-off, monthly, quarterly, or annual contributions. Gift Aid scheme enables claim of 25p per £1 donated.
2. Government Contracts: Ministry of Justice contract funding Katherine Price Hughes House as an independent approved premise providing accommodation and rehabilitation for men leaving prison.
3. Space Hire Revenue: Revenue generated from hiring counselling rooms and community spaces. Wincott Street Community Hub and Highbury Counselling Centre offer rooms for hire. Profits are reinvested into community services rather than commercial gain.
4. Counselling Fees: Affordable counselling services with sliding scale fees starting from £20 per session. Assessment fee of £50 (£20 for unemployed, retired, or students). Revenue supports the Highbury Counselling Centre.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Strides is a UK-based charity and housing association founded in 1887 that provides supported accommodation, affordable counselling, and community hub spaces (such as The Greenhouse) to vulnerable people including ex-offenders, young people, key workers, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and those experiencing mental health issues or domestic abuse. The organisation is part of the West London Mission and combines direct service delivery with space hire to community groups and partnerships with public-sector and voluntary-sector referrers.

Product overview

Strides is a community housing association offering a portfolio of interconnected social services. Core housing services include keyworker accommodation, veterans' housing (Cherry Tree House), youth emergency accommodation, and prison reintegration housing (Katherine Price Hughes House). Mental health support is delivered through Highbury Counselling Centre providing affordable long-term psychoanalytic counselling. Community engagement is facilitated through the Wincott Street Community Hub offering space hire and partnership programmes. Additional services include coaching spaces for working homeless individuals, clinical training placements, and Sunday Sanctuary LGBTQ+ wellbeing sessions. Revenue-generating space hire at both North and South London locations supports service sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Highbury Counselling Centre (HCC): Provides longer-term psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy and counselling services to adults in the community, operating a sliding scale fee structure starting from £20 per session.
• Katherine Price Hughes House (KPH)
• Wincott Street Community Hub
• Cherry Tree House

Quantifiable outcome

• 27 people provided coaching support in 2024 across 39 sessions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Depaul UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ongoing partnership with Depaul UK to run youth-specific emergency accommodation. Depaul UK and New Horizon Youth Centre operate the first and only youth-specific 26-bed emergency accommodation in London from Strides' Holly Park building. The pan-London project serves 18-24 year olds at imminent risk of sleeping rough.
• New Horizon Youth CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Ongoing partnership running the pan-London youth hub for 18-24 year olds at Holly Park. Young people from across nearly each of the London boroughs have benefited from this essential provision.
• STAR Project (STAR Support)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024New partnership with STAR Support, the UK's first by-and-for LGBTIQ+ domestic abuse refuge. The service, funded through MOPAC, provides safe accommodation and recovery support for survivors. Over 80% of trustees, managers and staff reflect the protected characteristics of the people they serve.
• Bounce BackcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024New partnership with Bounce Back, a charity and social enterprise working with people both inside and outside of prison who may be at risk of or have a history of offending and substance use. Since December 2023, Bounce Back has been providing training workshops and space at the Wincott Street Community Hub for people who have left prison to learn new skills.
• Finding RhythmsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, partnered with Finding Rhythms to run a 6-week music production workshop at Katherine Price Hughes House. Four men created a music album and one won first place in the 'Success Story' category of the Annual Rehabilitative Activity Award nationally across all Approved Premises.
• QueerwellcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Queerwell to deliver Sunday Sanctuary, a national-first mental wellbeing hub designed specifically for the LGBTQ+ community. Hosted at Highbury Counselling Centre, it offers therapy, coaching, workshops, creative 'playshops', and safe community connection, free or low-cost. Founded in 2024 by LGBTQ+ people with lived and professional experience of mental health services.
• Lambeth Mediation ServiceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-producing community mediation and conflict resolution services for Lambeth residents at Wincott Street Community Hub.
• Repowering LondonminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-producing Energy Saving Roadshows at Wincott Street Community Hub.
• Let's GrowminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Co-producing a new VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) Recovery programme for survivors of abuse in Lambeth, alongside the Lambeth VAWG and Independent Advisory Groups (IAG).
• WaythroughminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The first-ever London employment-focused drug and alcohol support service, operating in collaboration with the boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark. Services delivered from Wincott Street Community Hub.
• You Are LovedminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partner organization delivering Sunday Sanctuary programme alongside Queerwell for LGBTQ+ mental wellbeing support.
• Westminster City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Westminster City Council to deliver Coaching Spaces programme offering Airbnb or homestay accommodation and professional coaching for people in work experiencing homelessness.
• Ministry of JusticecoreOthers · 1 January 2024Government contract funding Katherine Price Hughes House as an independent approved premise. Provides accommodation, public protection and rehabilitation for men leaving prison through a 12-week programme.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Mind: Mind is England's leading mental health charity providing advice, information, and community services, with a national network of local Minds. Comparable to the Highbury Counselling Centre's mental health support work, though Mind operates as a national federation rather than a single-site service provider.

Broad incumbents

• Homegroup: Homegroup is one of the UK's larger housing associations providing supported housing, mental health services, and homelessness programmes. Comparable as a registered housing association providing mixed-tenure housing and specialist support services across multiple vulnerable groups.
• Shelter: Shelter is the UK's largest housing and homelessness charity, providing advice, advocacy, and supported housing across the country. Broad incumbent for housing/homelessness services with overlapping client base to Strides, though operating nationally with a much larger scale.
• YMCA England & Wales: YMCA England & Wales operates a national network of supported accommodation, health and wellbeing programmes, and youth services. Comparable mission to Strides (housing vulnerable populations, wellbeing, community engagement) at much broader geographic and programme scale.

Direct peers

• Depaul UK: Depaul UK supports young people and adults experiencing homelessness and disadvantage, and is itself a Strides partner running the Holly Park youth hub. Direct peer in mission (housing, youth, ex-offender support) and in the operational model of partnered delivery from Strides-owned buildings.
• Centrepoint: Centrepoint is a UK-wide charity supporting young people aged 16-25 facing homelessness, offering accommodation, learning, and employability programmes. Direct peer for Strides' Holly Park youth emergency accommodation and related 18-24 services in London.
• Single Homeless Project (SHP): SHP is a London-focused charity providing accommodation, support, and move-on services for single homeless people. Directly comparable in geography and the combination of supported housing with coaching/employment support similar to Strides' Westminster Coaching Spaces.
• Crisis: Crisis is the UK's national homelessness charity, focused on ending homelessness through housing, education, and advocacy. Comparable to Strides' housing-plus-support model and on the coaching/skills development work delivered through the Wincott Street Community Hub.
• St Mungo's: St Mungo's is one of London's largest homelessness charities, providing accommodation, recovery, and rehabilitation services for people experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping. Directly comparable to Strides on mission, geography (London), and the integration of housing with support/counselling services for vulnerable adults.
• Thames Reach: Thames Reach supports people out of homelessness in London through hostels, employment services, and tenancy sustainment programmes. Comparable to Strides' Westminster coaching spaces, keyworker accommodation, and pan-London rehousing services for working homeless individuals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/strides.org.uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stridescommunity
• Instagraminstagram.com/strides_community

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Strides