Housing First for Youth project

In 2017 we launched the first ever Housing First for Youth project in the UK. After an initial two year pilot we are continuing to deliver this vital project in partnership with Almond Housing Association and West Lothian Council in West Lothian, and in Edinburgh as part of the Housing First Consortium. And now due this success of the first ever Housing First for Youth project in the UK, we have been able to expand this service into Fife in partnership with Fife Council.

Through being the first UK charity to pilot this project we have built up further evidence of the success of the Housing First model in a youth context, with a particular focus on the benefits to young people leaving care. The pilot was independently evaluated and you can read the final report here.

Recent Scottish Government statistics suggest that at least 21% of care leavers become homeless within five years of leaving care (Scottish Government, 2016), while practitioners suggest this could be as high as 30 – 50% due to issues with self-declaration.

Young people leaving care are failed by temporary supported accommodation models. Traditional ‘staircase’ routes to permanent accommodation rely on an individual being able to prove their readiness at each stage in order to move to the next, something which is not possible for young people requiring high levels of support. Many young people leaving care will have already experienced significant trauma, instability, multiple moves and a lack of security throughout their early life. Under the current model, too many young people are unable to do what is required of them to be allowed permanent housing.

Housing First works on the belief that housing is a basic human right. The Housing First for Youth model extends this right to young people, and acknowledges that young people have specific needs related to their age.

Through our projects in West Lothian, Edinburgh and Fife, the young people we work with are offered accommodation on an immediate, permanent and unconditional basis. Fully furnished tenancies have been provided and our teams are providing dedicated, holistic support to each young person, focused around their individual needs, including education, employment, health and well-being.

We take a ‘whatever it takes’ approach in order to support young people to maintain their tenancies and prevent them from ever becoming homeless.