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Listen to thisSunderland council’s decision to end hostel-based accommodation for young people in favour of a housing first approach is worrying
Centrepoint’s contract to provide supported accommodation for homeless young people with Sunderland city council ended last week. Instead, the council has chosen to adopt a “housing first” approach. But there is little evidence that the model, developed in the US for adults with high support needs, works for young people.
The housing first approach has been a success in some areas, particularly for long-term rough sleepers with multiple and complex needs, including alcohol and drug dependency. It places someone in their own private sector tenancy with intensive, tailored support around them to address these issues.
But young people, who generally have not slept rough for long periods, have a specific set of needs. There is a reason why Centrepoint is a charity that helps homeless young people. Many of the people we support have experienced family breakdown, sometimes abuse or neglect, and many struggle with mental health issues. We know that young people have the best chance of succeeding in life when they are given high quality support to get the skills they need to get a home and a job. That may include support to access education, training and employment, or learning the skills to live independently.
Providing supported accommodation for specific needs – for example those with mental or physical health needs is commonplace. But our experience at Centrepoint tells us that most young people benefit from support regardless of these sorts of needs, to help them adjust to the requirements of independent living – for example, learning how to budget, manage a tenancy and make healthy meals.
The decision by Sunderland council to restrict its services only to young people who have a specific need – such as those who are are under 18, care leavers aged 18-21, those at risk of domestic violence or those with a dependent child will be supported – is worrying. These decisions are in some part driven by Whitehall, which has cut £250m from the council’s budget since 2010. But ultimately it is young people in Sunderland who will lose out, with nowhere to go to receive the support they need. This is what decisions taken in Whitehall translate to on the ground.
It is a decision that brings to an end an era of council-funded, hostel-based accommodation for homeless young people in the city. As one of our young people put it, they know there’s a place like Centrepoint that young people can go to that’s safe if they need help with anything. “If that’s suddenly taken away, where are young people going to go for help?”
Beyond a lack of evidence for housing first as a solution to youth homelessness, there are also logistical barriers. Councils need to be able to lease housing from private landlords and ensure support is available to tenants. In Sunderland, the local authority is struggling to find landlords who will rent their properties to the council, and has set aside a relatively small amount of money to provide support. This will make it difficult for the council to create the intensive package of support that has proved successful elsewhere.
Indeed, we are already aware of one young person who was moved into their own tenancy, only for it to fail as they were not ready to live alone.
These difficulties illustrate that no government or local authority can afford to move fully towards one type of accommodation, especially for young people.
The government is consulting on the future of supported housing costs, with a green paper expected in the next few months. We need an honest, research-driven debate about housing first and whether or not it works for young people. Whitehall and local councils would do well to keep in mind what has happened in Sunderland and, if funding cuts continue, in other areas too.
By Paul Noblet
19 July 2017
