Ending youth homelessness
The Week in Housing 28/04/23
A couple of week’s back (April 12th) I had the opportunity to attend a one day event organized by Clúid Housing looking at the issue of youth housing. The background to the day, in terms of the policy context, was the publication last year of the Youth Homelessness Strategy 2023-2025, a discussion of which kicked off the day. Sinéad Healy from the Dept. of Housing noted that youth homelessness has been rising dramatically (57% increase in the number of young adults experiencing homelessness in last 5 years). Indeed, 17% of people accessing emergency accommodation are18-24 year olds, despite widespread recognition that it is particularly inappropriate for this cohort. This was echoed throughout the day, as living in emergency accommodation for people in this cohort can be extremely traumatizing. Healy noted that there are a number of specific youth cohorts who are particularly at risk, including the LGBTQ, travelers, care leavers, people experiencing mental health issues, and people leaving the prison system.
But as Rory Hearne noted in his input, recognizing the risk factors of certain cohorts should not distract from the structural drivers and causes of youth homelessness, i.e. the housing crisis itself. On this topic, Gareth Redmond of Threshold pointed out that young households are heavily concentrated in the PRS, a sector which is characterised by well documented issues of availability and affordability, but presents specific challenges for young people. Some of those challenges, Redmond argued, include the absence of landlord/employer references, lack of knowledge of rights (due to inexperience as renters), the concentration of young people in precarious work, and the fact that young people are more likely to be in licensee arrangements where they have virtually no rights.
A further issue, which wasn’t mentioned, is age-based discrimination by landlords and letting agents - there is no evidence on this in Ireland, but we do know this is an issue effecting other vulnerable cohorts such as HAP recipients, ethnic minorities, and lone parents.
The issues with the PRS were also highlighted by Paul Gordon of the National Youth Council of Ireland, who referred to research they had commissioned showing the prevalence of housing issues for young people and its role in mental health issues and indeed emigration.
Internationally, there is certainly no shortage of research documenting the fact that homelessness has a significant impact on the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of young people (a point also made by Rory Hearne in his closing remarks). The evidence shows that youth homelessness can lead to:
Mental health issues: homelessness is associated with increased rates of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder;
Substance abuse: homeless youth are at increased risk of drug and alcohol abuse, which can lead to addiction, health problems, and social isolation;
Educational disruption: homelessness can disrupt education, which can limit future opportunities;
Social isolation: homeless youth often lack stable social networks and can feel disconnected from their peers and communities;
Increased risk of victimization: homeless youth are at higher risk of being victims of violence, sexual assault, and exploitation.
Youth homelessness prevention practices typically involves a combination of prevention, early intervention, and support services aimed at addressing the root causes of homelessness and helping young people maintain stable housing.
Some key best practices in youth homelessness prevention include:
Early intervention and prevention: providing services to young people at risk of homelessness before they become homeless, such as family mediation and counseling, education and employment support, and mental health services;
Housing-focused approaches: providing access to affordable and safe housing options, such as rental subsidies and supportive housing models, that prioritize stability and allow for wraparound services to be provided;
Cross-sector collaboration: bringing together government agencies, community organizations, and private sector partners;
Trauma-informed care: recognizing and addressing the trauma that many homeless youth have experienced and providing services that are sensitive to their needs;
Youth involvement and empowerment: involving young people with lived experience of homelessness in the design and delivery of services and programs, and promoting their voice and agency in decision-making processes.
Echoing the international evidence, Adam Spollen of Focus Ireland discussed five key principles of the ‘Housing First for Youth’ approach used by Focus:
No preconditions to accessing housing (such as sobriety)
Youth choice, youth voice - the importance of self-determination
Development and wellness orientation
Individualized, client driven
Social inclusion and community integration
(Focus Ireland have a lot of good publications on this issue, like this one profiling youth homelessness, this one on LGBTQ youth homelessness, and this one on tackling youth homelessness. Also, Adam Spollen heads up the Irish Coalition to End Youth Homelessness).
In terms of tackling youth homelessness, a lot of emphasis was placed on care leavers and hence there was a lot of discussion of the CAS for Care programme (see recent research here on this), including a really powerful video featuring residents supported by CAS for Care.
Youth homelessness (and indeed homelessness in general) is not something I have researched or have much familiarity with, so I learned a huge amount on the day. I did feel it was noteworthy that much of discussion was around homelessness prevention, and specifically care leavers, and therefore there was not much discussion of general youth housing as such, i.e. of shaping the housing system itself (rather than homeless services) so that it better serves this cohort. One thing that also jumped out at me was that the research and frontline experience in this area seems to suggest a strong interrelationship between two sets of issues. On the one hand, the housing issue. This is more than just shelter (of course) and includes stability, security, the transition to adulthood and independence, feelings of belonging and identity and avoiding the stigmatization associated with youth homelessness. One the other hand, there are issues around social isolation and the lack of supportive peer groups and positive/stable adult influences.
The literature on tenure mixing may be relevant here, as much of this literature focuses on the interaction of housing and social capital, i.e. the setting and context within which housing is provided can provide opportunities for vulnerable cohorts to build social networks and social capital, which can have beneficial knock on effects in terms of wellbeing, employment and education.
An interesting example of this in the context of Youth Housing is the Danish ‘UK HOME’ initiative. This a kind of ‘co-living’ type youth housing which provides accommodation both to third level students and to young people who are identified as at risk of homelessness. There is a big focus on integration and social interaction among residents and a role played by support staff. It therefore provides opportunities for social mixing, building positive peer groups, combatting isolation, and de-stigmatization of individuals who have been failed by the housing system.
Events and News
A reminder that this weekend CATU are organising an event, featuring some influential international academic/activists, like Neil Gray and Melissa Garcia Lamarca. Register here. The Peter McVerry Trust are recruiting a new Research and Policy Manager. The Housing Agency’s latest Research Support round has been launched, and there is an information session coming up - details here.
What I’m reading
This week I am sharing some of the most influential international research on youth homelessness prevention:
National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2018). Preventing and Ending Youth Homelessness: A Coordinated Community Response. Retrieved from https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Youth-Prevention-Ending-Report.pdf
Early, T., & Akers, M. (2017). Preventing Homelessness among Transition-Age Youth: Lessons Learned from the United States. Children and Youth Services Review, 79, 270-277.
Hahn, J., & Riemer, M. (2019). Preventing Youth Homelessness: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, 28(1), 1-13.
Barman-Adhikari, A., Rice, E., & Rhoades, H. (2014). Win-Win Strategies to Prevent Youth Homelessness. American Journal of Public Health, 104(S4), S180-S184.
Rog, D. J., Buckner, J. C., & Cabrera, D. M. (2015). Preventing Homelessness among At-Risk Youth: An Experimental Study of a School-Based Mentoring Program. Children and Youth Services Review, 52, 27-36.
Gaetz, S., O'Grady, B., Buccieri, K., Karabanow, J., & Marsolais, A. (2016). Youth Homelessness in Canada: Implications for Policy and Practice. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 107(S1), eS6-eS8.
MacLeod, E., & Nelson, G. (2018). Preventing Homelessness among Youth Leaving Foster Care: The Importance of Stable Housing and Income. Children and Youth Services Review, 91, 269-276.
Ferguson, K. M., Bender, K. A., Thompson, S. J., & Xie, B. (2015). Homelessness and Runaway in Adolescence: A Systematic Review of Prevalence and Risks. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 16(4), 435-446.
Gwadz, M. V., Cleland, C. M., Lounsbury, D. W., & Kutnick, A. H. (2017). Achievement Motivation and Homelessness among Urban Youth: An Action-Theory Approach. Journal of Adolescence, 61, 52-62.
Kryda, A. D., & Compton, M. T. (2016). Predictors of Homelessness among Urban Youth: A Preliminary Investigation. Community Mental Health Journal, 52(6), 672-680.