“We’re trying to nip youth homelessness in the bud”

“We’re trying to nip youth homelessness in the bud”

As street homelessness becomes increasingly visible, we discover how a Norfolk-based charity is working with young people to provide a preventative service. Chris Elliott, Marketing and Fundraising Manager for The Benjamin Foundation, tells us why more services are needed to tackle these issues and how social workers can effectively support young people at risk of becoming homeless.

There are a number of reasons why young people may be at risk of being homeless. For some, it may be that their parents are simply no longer willing or able to take care of them, for others it may be as a result of a breakdown of a relationship with a partner. In some instances, it may be because the person is transitioning into independence after growing up in the care system.

According to national homeless charity Centrepoint, more than 100,000 young people in the UK presented to their council in 2017/18 as they were homeless or at risk. But this is just the tip of the scale; after all, there may be thousands of other young people unknown to the system who may be at risk. It’s these people who are being effectively supported by charitable organisations such as The Benjamin Foundation.

The Norfolk-based organisation is now celebrating its 25th year, and during that time it has seen a big change in its operations. Marketing and Fundraising Manager Chris Elliott says: “We initially launched in 1994 after the tragic death of a young man named Benjamin Draper. His parents wanted to honour his memory and they wanted to support young people. At the start, we focused on providing youth activities in the rural area where they lived. Through that, we started hearing about the challenges young people had, and for some of them, they confided that family life wasn’t great.”

At that time, there wasn’t anything in North Norfolk which provided accommodation and support for young people who needed it. We opened our first accommodation facility in 1997 with just eight rooms and within a month, we were full.

The Benjamin Foundation now provides a home and support to 100 young people every night and have expanded their services from their initial Norfolk roots into neighbouring counties. The charity is funded by local authority contracts and each young person supported by the Foundation will have a social worker allocated to them.

“We’re trying to nip homelessness in the bud” explains Chris. “We support young people by helping them to build their confidence and life skills with the aim that they become independent young people. They can live with us for up to two years and we work closely with them to help them transition into independence when the time is right for them. As well as providing accommodation, we work with them to identify what motivates them, where they see their future and ways in which we can help them on that path. We’ll also provide them with basic living skills such as learning how to cook, clean and budget. It’s all about helping them to support themselves.”

Focusing upon prevention

Whilst some of the young people referred to The Benjamin Foundation may have been brought up within the care system, many others have come through as a result of a family breakdown. Chris describes The Benjamin Foundation as a “prevention service.” He says: “Every story is different. Some of the young people who are living with us have been affected by street homelessness but thankfully most of them haven’t got that far. We’re hoping to be able to help people before the situation escalates to that stage. For those who have come through the care system, we try to be the next bit of support.”

Staff at The Benjamin Foundation regularly work with social work teams from Norfolk and Suffolk Children’s Services to discuss progress, achievements and communicate any risks or worries. The Foundation invites relevant professionals to have input into placement reviews, and similarly, Foundation staff are encouraged to attend and input into statutory reviews. The result is a highly effective working style leading to positive outcomes for those supported by the charity.

Chris believes it’s important for social workers have a clear understanding and up-to-date knowledge of their local authority’s Youth Homelessness Joint Protocol in order to understand how they can effectively support those at risk. Knowing what financial support is available to young people under Section 17 legislation is essential, as is working closely with Placements Teams and Housing Associations when accommodation is offered under Section 20 legislation. To ensure effective working, he recommends that social workers should prioritise ensuring that relevant and up-to-date paperwork is completed and sent to potential providers.

Increasing awareness of the issues relating to homelessness

When it comes to the wider issues relating to youth homelessness, Chris believes there is greater awareness and public perception is that there’s something wrong. He says “Over the last 25 years, there’s been a big growth in need. Whilst we can support 100 people at a time, it’s not fully tackling the problem. As soon as we have a vacancy, there’s someone else who can fill it.”

“When I started, I found that issues relating to homelessness weren’t on people’s radar, but the growing visibility of homelessness is starting to open people’s eyes to the scale of the problem.”

To help raise awareness of the issues, The Benjamin Foundation is the East of England representative for a collective of charities called End Youth Homelessness (EYH). The collective regularly collaborate and share best practice case studies of work that they are doing, and they all work across the UK to run fundraising activities. The annual Sleep Out takes place every November and each year, the money raised provides a £150 grant for each young person which may be used to purchase kitchen utensils or smart clothes for a job interview or even a training course. It’s designed to help young people break down the barriers standing between them and successful independent living.

Chris concludes:

“The Sleep Out is the most important fundraising activity that we do. Last year across Ipswich and Norwich we raised £48,000 thanks to the 175 people who took part. This is replicated across the UK so it’s clear to see what a huge impact it can have.”

“We’re hoping to make this year bigger than ever before and I know that every member of the EYH is keen to raise awareness of the Sleep Out nationally.”

Find out more

Discover the regional charities working in partnership with End Youth Homelessness (EYH) and learn about the Sleep Out 2019 by visiting eyh.org.uk

To learn more about the work undertaken by The Benjamin Foundation, visit benjaminfoundation. co.uk or contact info@benjaminfoundation.co.uk