Policy into practice - Homelessness
Anne Longfield
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
THE ISSUE: Having just passed the 10-year anniversary of Labour's commitment to halve the number of children in poverty by 2010, more than a million children in England still live in bad housing, enduring overcrowded, unsanitary or unsafe accommodation.
The impact of poor housing on emotional and physical wellbeing as well as educational achievement is well known. The 3.8 million children who live in poverty in the UK today are twice as likely to be homeless or trapped in unsatisfactory accommodation.
Let's hope that the child poverty legislation due out later this month can have a real impact on the living conditions of these children and young people who are experiencing serious and disturbing levels of disadvantage.
CASE STUDY 1
Doorway is a small, independent charity working in North Warwickshire. It supports homeless young people aged between 16 and 25 who live in the top 10 per cent of the most deprived wards in the country.
The organisation has a register of private landlords willing to rent their accommodation to the under-25s and holds several drop-in advice sessions and pre-tenancy workshops for young homeless people.
Doorway also runs a homelessness prevention scheme in local secondary schools, as part of personal, social and health education lessons to explain the reality of being young and homeless. The scheme has had very positive feedback from schools and students, and, as a result, Doorway is looking to expand this service.
CASE STUDY 2
Llamau is an organisation in South Wales that tackles the link between family breakdown and youth homelessness. It offers a mediation service supporting families in finding their own solutions to conflicts.
The mediation service has not only helped lots of young people to remain or return home but also given families the skills to resolve other difficulties they may be experiencing. Given this achievement it has broadened the age range that the service is available to.
After piloting a scheme for 14- and 15-year-olds it was clear that the earlier the problems are tackled, the more likely they are to be resolved and some of the more serious situations can be pre-empted. There is no set time limit for mediation sessions; they are based on the individual needs of the young people and their families.
Llamau works primarily in the south of Wales but supplies a toolkit offering guidance to mediators in all Welsh local authorities.
Anne Longfield is chief executive of 4Children
