The Boys Clubhouse

19/06/2026

19/06/2026

Busy week. Warm weather. And some really interesting conversations. ☀️
First — welcome back sunshine. Anyone who works with young people knows what outdoor activities do that four walls simply can't. Big things coming on that front.

But the highlight of my week was sitting down with two very different organisations both doing parent support.
Same problem. Completely different approaches.
And honestly? Both were compelling.

Because here's what I've come to believe after years in this work — there is no one answer when it comes to supporting parents through difficult times with their teenagers.
Every family is different. Every young person is different. What unlocks one situation closes the door on another.

What matters is that parents can access the right support — whoever that comes from.
So that's exactly what we're building. A proper referral pathway for parents — structured, intentional, leadership driven. Think of it like a business strategy. The tone is set from the top, and the right people get connected to the right support at the right time.

Because when a teenager is struggling, the family is struggling. And they deserve more than a waiting list and a leaflet.
More on this soon.

29/05/2026

Yesterday, an 86-year-old man became Bar Mitzvah. 🙏

Barrie Davey. Chelsea Pensioner. RAF, Merchant Navy, Royal Army Veterinary Corps veteran.
A man who served his country for decades — but never knew he was Jewish growing up. His mother hid her Judaism when she came to England from France. It was never spoken about. Never shared.

That changed when his son came home and said he was marrying a Jewish woman.
"That moment was magic," Barrie said. "I felt like I had come back to the tribe."
And on Thursday — at 86 years old — in the magnificent wood-panelled halls of the Royal Hospital Chelsea, wearing his tallit over his iconic red uniform, Barrie was finally called up to the Torah.

His portion? Naso. Meaning "count."
Because now, as Rabbi Nadav said — he can finally be counted.

We are so proud that The Boys Clubhouse played a part in making this happen. Our team became friends with Barrie over recent years, and when we learned he'd never had his Bar Mitzvah — we knew what we had to do.

And we couldn't have done it without the incredible support of AJEX — The Jewish Military Association, who have stood by Barrie for years, and the wonderful staff at the Royal Hospital Chelsea who made the day possible.
This is what community looks like. This is why we do what we do.
Mazal Tov Barrie. We salute you. 💙
Link to story: https://www.thejc.com/community/86-year-old-british-army-veteran-finally-becomes-bar-mitzvah-in-unique-ceremony-w6wtg7lo

27/05/2026

Today, one of our boys started a job trial. 🙏

That might not sound like much to most people.

But for him — it’s everything.

He’s going through one of the hardest periods of his life. Real pressure. Real stakes. A family depending on him.

And yet this morning, he showed up.

That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because for months, quietly, we’ve been working alongside him. Mentoring. Therapy. The conversations that don’t make it onto a CV but change everything that does.

This is exactly what The Boys Clubhouse is here for.

Not just a roof. Not just a meal. The slow, unglamorous, deeply human work of helping someone rebuild — until the day they’re ready to take a step forward on their own.

Today was that day.

We don’t always get to share these moments. But this one felt worth it.

To every person going through it right now — keep going. Your day is coming too. 💙

15/05/2026

One of our biggest challenges? Sustainable employment.

For many of our boys, traditional jobs aren't realistic — not yet. Addiction, trauma, instability. A revolving door of dead-end work that leads nowhere fast.

So back in 2013, we built our own solution.

The Clubhouse Business Enterprise (CBE) — a real, working business run by our clients. Online selling, sourcing products, packaging, dispatch, customer service. The full picture.

Right now we have 9 of our boys actively running it. 100% positive feedback score. eBay and Etsy

But more than the numbers — it's the sense of achievement. Having something that's theirs. A positive in a life that's had plenty of negatives.

And this week, we launched something new under that umbrella 👇

123custom.co.uk — a personalised gift website built in-house by one of our boys. Mugs, Mousemats, coasters, slates, all made in house

Go take a look. Buy something. You'll be getting a great gift and changing a life.

👉 www.123custom.co.uk

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08/05/2026

Systems vs. People"

Systems don’t save people. People do.
I sat down with one of our boys recently, and he said something that I’ll never forget:

"In all the other places I've been, it's about the system. It's about the program. The Boys Clubhouse is the only place where it's not about the program—it's about you."

For 17 years, we’ve resisted the urge to become just another "institutional" check-box. We don't have a rigid, one-size-fits-all conveyor belt.
We have refurbished studio rooms, a gym that’s always in use, and guitar lessons that give a voice to the quietest kids. But most importantly?
We have eyes that see the individual, not just the referral form.

When you stop treating a young man like a "problem to be solved" and start treating him like a human to be known—everything changes. This is the heart of what we do.

05/05/2026

You can’t "fix" confusion, but you can dance through it.

I was standing back last night at our Lag BaOmer BBQ, watching the boys around the bonfire, and I realized something.

We spend a lot of time at The Boys Clubhouse talking about "the work"—the referrals, the studio refurbs, the job placements. But the "soul work" happens in the moments in between.

It happens in the singing. In the dancing. In the simple act of standing together around a fire.

Life can be incredibly confusing for a young man at risk. Last night wasn't about solving those problems—it was about providing a moment of happiness to ease the burden.

Souls connected. The fire burned bright. The mission continues.

23/04/2026

The cold goes through you different when you’ve got nowhere to go."

I want to share a story from one of the young men at The Boys’ Clubhouse. This isn't a marketing script; it’s his life.

"I don’t really speak to my family anymore. It’s just how it is. You get used to being on your own—streets, sofas, wherever you can land. After a while, you stop thinking about it. You just get on with it.

School didn’t work out. I ended up around the wrong stuff. Hope wasn't really a thing. You don’t think that far ahead. It’s just day to day.

Then I ended up at The Boys’ Clubhouse.

They gave me a proper bed, a door I could shut, and a place where no one was judging. Slowly, things started changing. The team even helped me find part-time work at a local shop. It's the first time in a long time I’ve had something proper to get up for.

It’s still my story. I own all of it. But where I’m at now compared to where I was... it’s mad. In a good way."

The Reality: This is why we do what we do. We don't just provide a bed; we provide a bridge back to the real world.

17/04/2026

"Nothing happening" is the most dangerous thing for a teenager.

This week, we took in 4 new referrals. Kids who were out of school, out of options, and stuck in a vacuum of "nothing."

At The Boys Clubhouse, we fill that vacuum fast.

The Week in Review:

The Gym is the New Therapy: We are seeing record-breaking use of the gym. The link between physical output and mental clarity isn't just a theory here—it’s a daily transformation.

Music over Noise: Guitar lessons have started. It’s amazing how a set of strings can ground a kid who feels like he’s drifting.

The "Wings" Philosophy: We kicked off our newest weekly discussion program: Chicken Wings and Let's Fly. It’s exactly what it sounds like—and so much more.

When a young man feels like he has nowhere to go, he stops dreaming. This week, we gave four more boys a place to start.

25/03/2026

This is not just a standing with Hatzola as another Jewish organisation and as a Jewish and humanity unity.

This is a post of love and thanks and to bring a sense of pride to the selfless volunteers.

I have called Hatzola numerous times in my capacity as supporting youth at risk. Lives saved when those few minutes after an overdose is the difference between life and death death. And their specialist mental heath team that will come out and often stay talking to someone suicidal for hours on end.

So just a moment to thank and salute them all. The ones I am referring to who have helped - you now who you are, and you are all part of a selfless team from dispatch to who refills the ambulances .

Onwards and upwards