When a young person approaches an agency for help because they are homeless and are aged 16 or 17, the aim will be to prevent further homelessness. A young person will be supported by a pathway and this pathway can also be the access point to support with accommodation for older Children in Care and Care Leavers. Where young people are assessed as needing housing related support they should be supported from the point at which they are assessed through to independent living.
1. Prevention, assessment, referral
All young people and young families will enter the pathway at this point, and an assessment of their needs will be undertaken. Normally Young People will either access their local District Council or local Youth Enquiry Centre. Each District currently delivers a Youth Homeless Prevention Service, normally delivered by a specialist Worker. If the young person is 16/17 then a particular housing pathway is followed.
Where possible, the young person will be supported to remain in their current accommodation/at home, and the family intervention Services will work with the family but if this is not possible, or appropriate, they will be referred to a housing and support service within the pathway. In addition to this, if the Young Person is aged 16/17 then they might be referred to one of the Permanence and Transitions Team where there are dedicated Social Work practitioners who work with the District Councils to assess a young persons needs and situation and with the young person agree on which pathway the young person wishes to be supported under.
If you have been asked to leave home Click Here
2. Access Accommodation
For most young people this will be the first housing and support service they enter in the pathway, and the focus will be on assessing young people’s needs and engaging them in support to determine their future housing and support requirements. The service will meet the needs of vulnerable young people, including those who are sleeping rough, have limited life skills and have never lived away from home. Young People may find it hard to stick to rules and boundaries. This service will enable young people to achieve some stability while they begin to engage with support. Where young people in the access services are not able to return to the family home, they are likely to remain in the pathway and move on to the progression, or move-through services.
The County Wide Supported Lodgings services also sits within this part of the pathway, this service provides an alternative to supported housing for young people and can be flexible in a large rural area. The service is also flexible in terms of the level of need it can support and also includes a temporary/emergency placement element to support the prevention work in the first part of the pathway.
If you decide to go down the route of supported accommodation you will be supported by the 'Local Council' or 'Children's Services'.
For information on the local council route and the support you will receive Click Here
For information on the 'Children's Services' route and the support you will receive Click Here
3. Progression Accommodation
Some young people and young families will enter the service pathway directly into the progression services because they either experienced living away from home before or their risk and needs assessment fits into a progression service. However it is expected most young people will enter progression services after a period in an access service and are ready for a step down in their support.
This service will provide housing and support for young people who have not been able to remain living in the family home, and are not able to live in the private rented sector due to their vulnerability and support needs. The focus of the service is to provide young people with a safe environment in which to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to live successful lives. There will be a clear focus on supporting young people to engage with, and maintain, education, employment and training opportunities.
These services will focus on building young people and young families’ capacity to live independently, including beginning to link them into agencies external to the service that will provide support once they move on.
4. Move-through
Young people and young families in these services will have entered the pathway through the progression services, although the length of time they will have been in that service will vary. Move-through services will provide support for young people who have demonstrated they have many of the skills and knowledge necessary to live independently, but still require the structure of supported housing and/or floating support. This service will continue to provide structured support for young people, enabling them to test out their independent living skills, before they leave the service. As young people become more confident and plan to enter the independence part of the pathway the amount of contact they have with workers will reduce.
For virtual video tours of supported housing projects Click Here
5. Independence
On leaving move-through services young people and young families, will live independently. However floating support will be available from the move-through service. The purpose of this is to support the transition and ensure a clear handover to any other service that will continue to work with the young person, or young family.