Looking for P3 Housing Association?
Go to P3 Housing
Looking for P3 Housing Association?
Go to P3 Housing
From our humble beginnings in Wolverhampton in 1972 to our expansion as a national organisation, we’ve never stopped evolving. Pushing boundaries, embracing innovation and challenging the status quo; we endeavour to go above and beyond to ensure we’re always there for people who need us most.
Our story starts relatively small; with four Catholic priests who set up a night shelter in a disused cinema in Wolverhampton, in 1972. Known as The Good Shepherd Trust, it was rough and ready, but it was a start – a place where men who had nowhere else to go could find shelter and support.
There were no policies, no procedures – just people helping people. Something which remains deep-rooted in our approach.
By 1982, it was clear that a more structured approach was needed. Single Homeless in Wolverhampton was formed to raise funds for a new purpose-built hostel – a place designed specifically to support people in breaking the cycle of homelessness, alongside providing immediate shelter and support.
In 1985, our first hostel was officially opened by Lady Diana Spencer. With 54-beds it marked a huge step forward in how homelessness was tackled in the city, and a shift in approach.
By 2002, things had to change. New trustees joined the board, and it was time for a fresh approach. The organisation moved away from religious-based support, opening to anyone in need, regardless of their background.
We built a people-focused, person-led approach – something that still sits at the heart of P3 today.
Facilitated by a new structure, the new leadership team recruited fuller, and more forward-thinking teams including Heads of Operations, HR, Development, Maintenance and Finance.
With a clear vision and growing momentum, we expanded beyond Wolverhampton, setting up services across the Black Country, Staffordshire and Derbyshire.
We did more than just providing accommodation; we helped break down barriers and opened opportunities for as many people as possible. We believe in providing foundations for people to grow and thrive off their own merit.
As the organisation changed, so did our name. We wanted a name that reflected our story – and just like everything we do, our people were at the forefront of the decision. Our colleagues and the people we support have helped shape who we have become – P3.
At first, it stood for ‘Policy, Practice and Partnership’ – but as time went on, that evolved to reflect the heart of our organisation – people.
Today, P3 stands for ‘People, Potential, Possibilities’, and that’s what we’re all about.
We started joining forces with other institutions to make a bigger impact.
As we grew, we became nationally recognised for the way we work:
2005 – Named West Midlands Best Company to Work For and ranked in the Top 5 of The Sunday Times Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work For.
2006 – Merged with Project 2041, a West London charity supporting young people who were homeless or looking for employment.
2007 – Scooped ‘Top 100 Best Small Companies to Work for’ by the Sunday Times, recognising P3 as an outstanding place to work and trying to ‘make the world a better place.’
2009 – Merged with the Rugby Portobello Trust, an organisation with a legacy dating back to 1884.
2010 – Named UK Charity of the Year and ranked as The Sunday Times Best Company to Work For.
2012 – Named Sunday Times Top 100 Not-For-Profit Organisation.
By 2015, our impact had fully expanded into mental health support. Merging with The Amber Trust, we were able to bring in specialist services, staff and accommodation that focused primarily on mental wellbeing. This merger also brought new members into the Board of Trustees and Executive Leadership Teams, bringing a new set of ideas and forward-thinking initiatives.
In 2016, we took this innovation to the next level and launched our Outreach Vehicles – providing support to people in their local communities rather than expecting them to come to us. We also started using drones to cover large rural and coastal areas, helping us locate people sleeping rough and get to them faster than ever before.
The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 was a moment that changed lives forever. We immediately stepped up, providing support to those affected and helping rebuild a devastated community through the Rugby Portobello Trust.
RPT used its community reach to set up a residents-only emergency respite centre, securing emergency accommodation for dozens of families directly impact by the fire. In the long term, establishing five new support services directly to support residents, doubling RPT’s outreach in the local community.
We believe that housing support doesn’t end with shelter, that’s why we provided tens of thousands of pounds worth of phones, phone cards, computers, clothes and toiletries to help people rebuild their lives – totalling to more than £16million worth of donations to directly support residents effected by the fire.
In 2018, P3 merged again, this time with the University of the First Age (UFA).
As an organisation with a youth focus, the merge with P3 meant an expansion of support across England for vulnerable people; we were now able to offer support for young people in their live skills and education as well as housing. By coming together, we continued to transform lives by providing more opportunities for both young people and their communities.
When Covid-19 hit in 2020, the world shut down – but we didn’t.
We adapted, keeping our services open throughout unprecedented times. We supported over 28,500 people, moving our services online where needed, but remaining open in person. Sticking to our ethos, we never leave people behind.
We were once again nationally recognised when The Rugby Portobello Trust and its volunteers were awarded with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services, the group equivalent of an MBE, for its outstanding voluntary work within the local community – RPT led a fundraising campaign to secure more than £10,000 to purchase 50 laptops to support families with no access to appropriate IT devices to take part in the lessons.
The same year, P3 CEO Mark Simms won SE100 Leadership Champion, acknowledging his leadership in steering P3’s growth and impact.
In 2023, our People Board was nationally recognised when it won the Trustee Board of the Year at the Charity Times Awards. Our board was praised for its strategy to involve the voices of the people we support in organisation wide decisions at a time when we were the only charity in the sector to have a board made up of people who access or who have accessed our services.
Our CEO, Mark Simms, was appointed to the Board of Charity Commission for a three-year term in the summer of 2023. With 25 years of experience in the sector at this time, and after years leading P3, the appointment recognised his leadership skills that enabled our charity to expand its services to reach more people in need, providing them with shelter, support, and resources to help them rebuild their lives.
Mark received further worthy praise in 2024 when he was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to Social Enterprise, acknowledging a lifelong commitment not only to P3, but the wider third sector.
As P3 Charity has grown, so too has the need for our brand and website to truly reflect who we are, what we stand for and the people we support.
That’s why in 2025, we launched a new brand and a completely redeveloped website, marking a significant step forward in how we communicate our purpose, values and impact.
Our new identity brings greater clarity, warmth and visibility to our work. It better aligns with our values – kind, caring and respectful – and helps people immediately recognise us as a charity, while our website has been fully restructured to make it easier for people to find support, understand our services and connect with us.
This wasn’t just a design project – it was a deeply collaborative, two-year process. Our rebrand and website were co-developed with the people we work alongside and shaped by the insights of staff, trustees, volunteers, donors, commissioners and partners. Every decision was made with care, ensuring our identity reflects the heart of our organisation.
We also placed accessibility at the core of our development, working toward WCAG AAA standards to ensure our website is inclusive and usable for everyone – including those with visual impairments or neurodivergence.
This refresh isn’t just a new look – it’s a platform for the future: clearer, more accessible and built to grow with us as we continue to support people to unlock their potential and achieve lasting change.
We will continue our unwavering commitment to breaking down barriers, because at P3, we believe in people, potential and possibilities – and that’s never going to change.
P3 is not just a charity. We’re a movement, a community and a force for change.
We stand with people, for people, because of people.
We hope that one day our services won’t be needed, but until then, we’re here for the people who need us most.
