Guildford YMCA's earliest records go back to the 1870s. Since that time there have been many changes, but our aim has always been to serve, support and inspire young people in and around the town.

Our 120 bed hostel, right in the centre of Guildford was opened in 1989. Since then, thousands of young people have found a welcome there – whether for 3 months, or 2 years, it has become their home. The Y Restaurant, on the ground floor, is also open to the public and the great value for money conference facilities are used extensively by local organisations – over 100,000 people a year walk through our doors to use the restaurant and conferences alone!

Guildford YMCA also runs a youth café, Plantation, in Market Street . It’s a safe place for young people to hang out, listen to music and play pool – or challenge each other on the games consoles! There are always youth workers around to chat through any issues or problems. Many of the projects we run, including Ngage, Prince’s Trust Teams and our Motivate programme are based here at Plantation . One of our most in-demand services is Open House - the foremost counselling service for young people in the area. This service offers 50 hours of free, professional counselling every week.