Coaches support young people to find stability

Project: Settle

Purpose: To prevent care-experienced young people becoming homeless

Funding: About 60 per cent of the charity’s income comes from trusts and foundations with 40 per cent from contracts with local authorities and housing associations. Total income for 2022/23 was £759,600

Background

Research suggests around a third of care leavers end up homeless within the first two years of leaving care. Charity Settle was set up in 2015 to improve the support on offer to this vulnerable group.

Co-founder and chief executive Rich Grahame witnessed the challenges first-hand having worked in hostels accommodating young people. He saw many residents leave to live independently only to return having been evicted and made homeless.

The charity currently works with five local authorities and one housing association in Greater London, who refer young people to its service.

Action

Settle’s six coaches deliver one-to-one support to young people aged 18 to 25. The sessions cover practical skills including how to manage a tenancy and personal issues such as emotional wellbeing.

Settle begins working with care leavers as close to the start of their move to independent living as possible but can also support young people later on. When the charity receives a referral, it appoints a coach who contacts the care leaver and arranges an initial meeting to introduce the scheme.

Young people, who may be moving on from foster or residential care or supported accommodation, are referred to Settle when they have signed a tenancy agreement. The young person’s personal adviser may attend the initial meeting but the young person decides whether they want to take part. The programme is offered to each young person for up to six months.

The support offered by Settle is designed to complement rather than replace support provided by local authorities or housing associations, explains head of delivery Aimée Hardaker. While personal advisers may have around 30 care leavers in their caseload, Settle coaches only have about 10.

“Lots of care-experienced young people may not always want support from the local authority or housing association after they have moved,” says Hardaker. “There may be stigma attached, or they may want to draw a line and move on with their lives. That can be where a programme like Settle offers big value because we’re more external.”

Settle coaches are flexible about where meetings take place. This can be in cafes, the young person’s accommodation, or online, depending on what suits the young person best. Hardaker says some young people may feel anxious about a coach coming to their home but may allow this once a trusting relationship has been established.

All frontline staff complete a coaching qualification on joining the organisation. “We have found coaching is the best way to build young people’s confidence and empower them,” says Hardaker. “We work alongside the young adults we’re supporting – we don’t do things for them.”

Coaches cover four key areas: improving financial resilience, developing life skills, accessing specialist support and emotional wellbeing. But the young person’s needs set the agenda for sessions.

To help young people manage their money, coaches introduce them to a budgeting tool. “We talk to them in detail about what they want and what they need,” says Hardaker.

Many of the young people are uncomfortable phoning services, such as the Job Centre, particularly if English is not their first language. Coaches use role-play to help the young people develop communication skills. “At the beginning of the programme it may be that we need to do that phone call with them, then part-way through they’re doing all of those phone calls themselves,” says Hardaker.

Life skills delivered by the coaches vary widely depending on individuals’ needs. Some participants might be in education while others are job seeking or working. Some are parents. Coaches encourage young people to be active, help them build a support network and form connections within their community. “Our support is holistic and really thinks about the whole person,” says Hardaker.

If coaches do not have the skills to support a particular need, they will point young people in the direction of other services, such as care leaver charity the Drive Forward Foundation.

All coaches are trained in mental health first aid. Hardaker says this is important for working with young people who have experienced traumas, including former unaccompanied asylum seekers. She says coaches try to help young people manage different emotions. Many experience difficulties with anger management or maintaining healthy relationships.

Settle offers fully funded private therapy sessions to young people needing extra support. Care leavers can select which therapist they would like to see so they feel in control of the process.

When the six-month programme comes to an end, Settle organises a graduation session for the young person where they reflect on their achievements with their coach. The coach also takes them out for a celebration lunch.

Graduates of the scheme can stay in touch with the charity and their coach by attending workshops or social events. In the past year, Settle has run four employment, education and training workshops and organised events including a summer gathering in a park. “We’re trying to create more fun moments to help them build a community and support network,” says Hardaker.

Outcome

A total of 725 young people had completed the Settle programme up to the end of March this year. In 2022/23, the charity supported 167 young people up from 144 in 2021/22. They spent an average of 5.6 months in the programme.

In 2022/23, 97 per cent of Settle graduates sustained their tenancies. About 30 per cent were in rent arrears when they embarked on the scheme owing £1,164 on average. By the time they left, 69 per cent had cleared their arrears while a further 19 per cent reduced their arrears.

Of 167 Settle graduates who took part in a survey, 92 per cent felt more in control of their lives.

What's next?

Settle is currently recruiting a partnerships manager to expand its reach among local authorities and housing associations. In 2024/25 its target is to reach 270 young people. The charity also plans to increase its advocacy work to raise awareness of challenges faced by care leavers.

If you think your project is worthy of inclusion, email supporting data to: derren.hayes@markallengroup.com

Experience: Settle helps care leavers build foundations for positive change 

Hayat* is originally from Eritrea and arrived in the UK as an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child. He is one of the many young care leavers who have been supported by Settle.

He moved into independent living during the Covid-19 pandemic but was struggling. He was referred to Settle by his local authority and started meeting up regularly with senior coach Alice Turner (pictured).

When Turner visited his flat she noticed a large cupboard full of unopened letters.

Hayat was too scared to open them but because he trusted Turner he agreed they could look at the letters together. They included energy bills and court orders for debts.

“It was difficult for him to manage because there was a language barrier,” says Turner. “He didn’t want to bring it up because he felt ashamed that he didn’t know what was going on.”

She helped Hayat organise the letters and make a plan. She contacted debt charity StepChange for advice about managing a dispute with the energy companies.

Turner noticed that Hayat’s mood was low and he was isolating himself from his friends. But with practical support things began to change.

“Young people often take time to fully engage,” says Turner. “There were times when I would turn up at Hayat’s flat and he was still asleep.”

But he began getting up earlier and taking more pride in his appearance. Turner encouraged him to sign up to a local gardening volunteer scheme to help him improve his English and make new friends.

Now aged 24, Hayat is reducing his debts and “doing really well”, according to Turner. “If you’ve got the support in place, you’ve got a foundation, and can focus also on looking after yourself,” she says.

*Name changed