Housing First model could be the answer for vulnerable care leavers, research finds

Research into England’s first Housing First pilot for care leavers has found the model can provide a stable, independent home and personalised support for vulnerable care leavers. The London Borough of Haringey commissioned the youth homelessness charity Centrepoint to deliver a Housing First project to young care leavers in the area in April 2019. For many of these care leavers, more traditional models of support, such as supported housing, had failed and not been sufficient for their complex needs, leaving the young people at risk of homelessness.

An evaluation took place of the Housing First pilot in June 2021 with nine young care leavers who were successfully housed.

The evaluation found that:

Two thirds (6) of these care leavers had moved into long-term accommodation.
Five out of six young people, who were rehoused, were not involved in the criminal justice system by the end of the project. Five out of six rehoused had been involved at the beginning of the project.
Young people and staff felt that the project had a positive impact on the mental health of the young people involved.
The Housing First model was developed in the early 1990s in New York, USA, and provides a stable, independent home for those who have experienced homelessness and chronic health and social care needs. Since then, successful projects have sprung up elsewhere across Europe and North America. Since 2010, various local authorities in England have set up Housing First initiatives – but Haringey was the first to adopt the programme for care leavers.

Balbir Chatrik, Centrepoint’s Director of Policy, said:

“Too many young care leavers are tumbling out of the care system because they can’t access the support they need to sustain accommodation.

“The Housing First model seems to change that. This project meant we were able to provide specialist support for some of the most vulnerable young people in Haringey and stopped them becoming homeless.

“Too many young people leave care only to fall through the cracks and into homelessness. This evaluation showed us that that trajectory can be changed if we prioritise stable accommodation and easy-to-access support. This was a small study but we think it is replicable. So, for any government serious about supporting care leavers, the challenge now is to recognise the value in this approach and find the money to make this happen at scale.”

According to Centrepoint, between 2019 and 2020 almost 8,500 young people in London approached their local council because they were homeless, or at risk of homelessness, with almost 650 of these in Haringey. Centrepoint believes these numbers could surge during the winter months to come.