Or rather, says the charity's chief executive Anthony Lawton, Centrepoint - ostensibly a youth homelessness charity - is renewing its focus of recent times. The London-based organisation will now set out to bring together the best housing, social, youth and education work for young people. More or less, this is what it has done for the past five years. But the time had come, says Lawton, to emphasise "where we've got to and where we're heading in the future".
In spelling out Centrepoint's newly stated "central purpose", he says that an integrated approach is essential when addressing the problems faced by socially excluded young people.
To do this, the charity will work with "young people on a downward spiral", providing a "firm foundation so they can rebuild their lives".
"Social exclusion wastes individual potential and means society misses out on this untapped resource," says Lawton. "Society's attitudes and actions are part of what makes an individual socially excluded. So we want to try to change society's attitudes."
Depending on how you look at it, Centrepoint is part of the youth-serving sector, the whole world of homelessness work, as well as the wider housing sector. Its new range of work will encompass practical help, such as providing a roof over young people's heads, as well as responding to personal and social needs. Greater focus will be put on young people's learning, as well on the idea of young people as "active citizens".
Today, 29 October, Clare Ward MP is due to help Centrepoint unveil its rebranding. Ward, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children, will be joined by children and young people's minister Margaret Hodge, and Centrepoint staff and supporters at the launch. Hodge's presence at the event in London is significant, says Lawton: "This is relevant to our integrated approach to children and young people."
Lawton acknowledges that much hinges on Centrepoint's staff and their ability to tackle the challenges head on. "We have instituted a whole new core training programme," he says. "All our staff have to up their game - it's not just a minor change."
Help has come from a range of sources, with The National Youth Agency's curriculum framework for social inclusion Getting Connected proving particularly useful. Lawton also pays tribute to the charity's financial backers, including the Department for Education and Skills and The Royal Bank of Scotland.
The first major challenge will be to engage with young people, Lawton explains. "We will do much more work with the most marginalised and socially excluded young people," he says.
And at one minute to nine this morning, 10,000 emails were sent out to Centrepoint supporters, launching the new brand. This corresponds to Centrepoint's logo and slogan, which reads: "8:59 Centrepoint, What's next for young people" (see far left).
This leaves behind the old "Housing Young People At Risk" strapline, which "understates what we do and will be doing", says Lawton.
Eight fifty-nine is viewed as a moment when things change, says Lawton, just before work starts and schools open. He adds: "We are providing assistance at the critical moment."
FYI
- Ken Leech founded Centrepoint in the winter of 1969
- The organisation had four permanent workers to begin with - it now has more than 200, as well as supporting voluntary workers
- In response to growing demand for homelessness services outside London, a national development unit was set up in 1989
- Every night it provides emergency accommodation to around 500 young people in Greater London.
