New scheme to prevent young people becoming homeless

Solihull Council has adopted a new scheme to help young people in the borough, aged 16 – 24, from becoming homeless.

The Positive Accommodation and Support Pathway for Young People will commence in April 2017 for a two-year pilot.

It will provide innovative ways of helping vulnerable young people to address the problems in their lives which often lead to homelessness.

In addition, the scheme aims to minimise the number of young people who become homeless and approach services in crisis. This will be achieved by supporting young people to remain in their family homes and where this is not possible help to arrange planned moves into suitable accommodation.

The pilot will be delivered by St Basil’s, a charity that helps over 5,000 young people each year in the West Midlands.

Councillor Ken Hawkins, Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing & Regeneration, said: “We are excited to be working with St Basil’s and adopting this new approach to ensure young adults in the borough are getting the support they need before they find themselves in serious trouble.

“It is absolutely vital we try and intervene and protect young people from the risks of homelessness and we are hopeful this pilot will enable this to happen.”

The Positive Accommodation and Support Pathway for Young People was developed nationally following research which indicates a high level of homelessness amongst young people and a range of negative impacts extending into adult life for those who experience homelessness in their youth.

It will complement other initiatives that provide routes into employment and education, as well as supporting Solihull Council’s priorities of improving health, wellbeing and managed growth.

Lorna Esien, Director of Operations from St Basil’s added: “We are delighted to be part of this two year pilot to provide support to young people at risk of homelessness across Solihull. We have been working closely with the Council and local partners to make sure we can provide a positive model to prevent youth homelessness.

“We have worked in this field for 45 years and in Solihull for over 20 years, we know that the only way to have a positive impact on tackling the issue is through working with partners.

“We look forward to helping shape the positive futures of young people through this partnership.”

For further information: http://www.stbasils.org.uk

Read more: http://www.solihull.gov.uk/news/ArtMID/820/ArticleID/1539/New-approach-to-prevent-homelessness