Youth homelessness remains a major issue in the 21st century in the United Kingdom due to its adverse long-term consequences. Homelessness among the young people increases the risk of developing mental illnesses by threefold since they lack the required social support system and at the same time are exposed to diverse issues including the search for food and other basic needs from a tender age (Hughes et al. 2010, p. 275). According to Saddichha et al. (2014, p. 206), homeless youth have very high levels of physical and psychological problems similar to homeless adults and appropriate interventions should be developed to manage their condition. Apart from being associated with mental issues, homelessness marginalizes young people from the mainstream activities of the society. Furthermore, homelessness is directly linked to increased incidences of drug abuse and alcohol consumption (Rhoades et al. 2014, p. 230; Tompsett et al. 2013, p. 530; Gomez et al. 2010, p. 30). Already, the interrelationship between youth homelessness and social exclusion has been established with the population missing out on essential services which could mold them into better members of the society. Although there is no universal definition of the term, homelessness may refer to rough sleeping (Quilgars. D 2008,p.12). It may also refer to people living in emergency conditions or situations, homeless hostel and in temporary accommodation (Mayock et al. 2014, p. 16). In other instances, it may refer to individuals who live in impoverished conditions such as derelict houses or unsuitable temporary accommodations (Stewart et al. 2010, p. 150). Homelessness denies an individual the freedom to live in a secure and safe environment and in the process makes them feel isolated and vulnerable in the society. In the United Kingdom, local authorities define a homeless individual as one who has no accommodation or place to occupy or individuals living in undesirable accommodations (Shelter UK 2017, p. 2). The local authorities commonly classify such individuals as ‘priority need’ before placing them in temporary and permanent accommodations across the United Kingdom.
Large-scale data indicates that young people are three times more likely to leave their homes compared to any other population in the United Kingdom with poverty being indicated as one of the major causes (Shelter UK 2017, p. 4). Unlike other areas where families take care of their young people until they are relatively stable to start a new life, more young people are asked by their families in the UK to leave their homes once they attain a specific age (Quilgars et al. 2008). Since such individuals lack the required skills and qualifications to either start a business or get a job, they are forced to live in the streets while attempting to make something out of their current situation. Canada Without Poverty (2012) supports the notion indicating that young people coming out of pre-existing care once they attain 18 years face numerous challenges although their families cannot be blamed for such decisions especially when the financial pressure is too high. Young people from disadvantaged and minority communities such as African Americans may are at increased risk of becoming homeless (Shinn 2010, p. 30). Apart from poverty, several other issues are indicated as major causes of youth homelessness. They include abuse or exposure to physical violence during childhood (Bramley & Fitzpatrick 2018, p. 98), substance abuse or mental health issues within families (Quilgars 2012, p. 158), running away from home, leaving school without any qualification, learning disabilities and being either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (Quilgars 2012, p. 160). The lack of proper housing laws in the United Kingdom has also increased incidences of youth homeless. Laws have favored the formulation of the structuralized house markets which never cater for the needs of the vulnerable people in the process increasing homelessness (Bramley & Fitzpatrick 2018, p. 97). The above factors serve as red flags for youth homelessness. Reduction and management of the issue require a multi-agency framework that will investigate existing factors as well as a mechanism that can deal with the current issues. One of the approaches that has been suggested is the use of supported accommodation as a method of reducing the state of homelessness among young people in the United Kingdom. Other methods which have been proposed include the use of multiagency associations, government support in providing job retention and financial stability and provision of living skills which maintain goodwill as well as securing suitable accommodation (Stewart et al. 2010, p. 150). The paper explores the needs of young people stated above and proposed methods which could reduce the state of homelessness.
Rationale
Approximately 78,000 – 80, 000 youth experience homelessness annually in the United Kingdom (Shelter UK 2017, p.4). Such periods of homeless expose such young populations to delinquent activities which are predominantly common in the streets and increased victimization which is part and parcel street life culture (Quilgars et al. 2008). The number of young people in the street is not high and as a result, effective measures can be applied through several approaches in reducing the number of young people who are homeless. The first approach will involve the provision of a number of different skills which can help young people secure sustainable accommodation. The skills could either be practical based or theoretical based and would help in assisting the young people in getting the required jobs within the society. When young people have a number of different skills they can adequately look for employment and accommodation and would consequently leave the streets. However, for them to move out of the streets, they need a partner who is willing to listen to their needs and provide them with the required skills.
Homelessness among young people occurs due to different intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Some intrinsic needs include running away from child abuse or domestic violence, running away from a community setting that does not fully recognize an individual gender especially for the transgender, bisexual, gay or lesbian members (Heath 2008, p.20). Extrinsic motivations include going to the streets as a result of failing to get the requisite qualifications, running away from home when still in the tender age, and poverty (Watts et al. 2015, p. 30). When a society finally understands the needs of these young population, then there is an increased possibility of understanding the various homeless rates within the United Kingdom. In solving the aforementioned needs, communities should adopt a multi-agency approach in developing interventions. For example, the local authorities should directly engage with other members of the community including families government and non- governmental agencies to bring together young people away from streets (Quilgars et al. 2011). Such an approach would reduce the number of young people in the streets and increase their adoption to the society.
Poverty and the lack of job opportunities among the young people has been indicated as one of the primary factors for the increase in a number of youth homelessness in the United Kindgdom (Fitzpatrick et al. 2016, p. 34). If the government of the day opts to develop a new mechanism to reintegrate young people in the society and at the same time increase the number of young people with jobs and financial services, there would be a significant decrease in the number of people in the streets (Quilgars et al. 2011). Lastly, the government and other agencies should utilize the supported accommodation model provides social support to the affected populace. Supported accommodation is an example of a housing scheme which provides housing, care services, and support for the young individuals as an integrated package (Murphy 2016). Some schemes are considered long-term and designed for individuals who need support to live alone or independently. Short term goals are designed to develop practical and emotional skills which are required in moving into the mainstream housing. Some essential aspects under supported accommodation would cover aspects such as health needs, development of daily skills, accessing education, training, and employment, management of drug and alcohol and include aspects (Fitzpatrick et al. 2017, p. 120). The main purpose of supported accommodation is to enable people to live independently within the society and also act as a transition phase for homeless individuals (McDonagh 2011). In this case, such a support system is provided to young homeless individuals through the use of homelessness hostels. During such periods, young people learn how to deal with various issues affecting their lives and making a better decision on how they could be integrated back to the society without necessarily missing on essential social services.
Literature Review
Providing essential skills to the young homeless individuals in the society could serve to reduce cases of the number of homeless young individuals. Ideally, most young people in the streets today would like out of their current situation by being unaware of various avenues which they could reduce homelessness. By directly providing such a population with various forms of life skills such which could be utilized to search for jobs and other opportunities would reduce the number homelessness cases (Watts et al. 2016). Once they become stable there is an increased possibility of opting out of the current situation as they are able to afford basic amenities including looking for a mortgage and even catering for their other basic needs in the society.
Multiagency collaboration could also be utilized to reduce cases of youth homelessness across various parts of the United Kingdom. Research has already indicated the numerous factors directly linked to youth homelessness including domestic and physical abuse, poverty, running away from school among other factors. The multi-agency approach is geared towards reducing youth homelessness by focusing on four different aspects (Fitzpatrick et al. 2017). Primary prevention focuses on reducing the number of new cases of homelessness by working with young people and their families before they experience any form of homelessness (Cutuli et al. 2015, p. 320). Secondary prevention focuses on the identification of a young person who is so close to becoming homeless while the tertiary intervention is focused on measures which could be implemented one an individual becomes homeless (Fitzpatrick et al. 2011, p. 502). Multi-agency models are built on three key issues information sharing, coordinated intervention, and joint decision making. Multi-agency models allow for different parties to come on board in managing the state of homelessness among the youth in the United Kingdom (Fitzpatrick et al. 2013, p 150). When different approaches are all targeted to solving an issue such as homelessness among the young people, there is an increased possibility of better outcomes. For example, a single front door opportunity combined and backed with parent support and government’s interventions would be ideal for the many cases where people are homeless (Centerpoint 2017, p. 2; Shinn 2010, p. 30). The pathway into homelessness for the young people is non-linear and discontinuous. For most young people they are never aware of their current state of homelessness. Some may become homeless before going back to their homes and coming back to the streets once again while others if provided with the required information, may return find places where they could stay (Clarke & Burgess 2015). Most local councils have implemented measures aimed at reducing the number of young homeless persons by providing specific directions on places they could reside while still gaining their foot on the ground.
One effective approach which could be used to reduce the number of homeless youth is by the government providing financial stable jobs for such a populace. Ideally, it is not the wish of a young person aged between 18-25 years to live in the streets. In most instances, such young people are driven by various factors as indicated above. However, most homeless young individual would not want to live in the streets for the remainder of their lives. Providing such a population with some form of skill or job opportunity would more likely reduce their numbers in the streets (Fitzpatrick et al. 2015). Common government interventions which have been successfully applied including enrolling the homeless youth in either volunteer programs or taking back some of them to school through various programs. Others have partnered with local organizations which offer part-time employment. Since a direct correlation exists between financial stability from job opportunities and housing, the number of homeless young people is bound to go down with the intervention. Governments should not only play a role in providing jobs and ensuring that more young people in age bracket described above are financially stable but should also explore different primary and secondary intervention measures which could significantly reduce the rate of youth homelessness in the United Kingdom (Centerpoint 2017, p. 10). A good starting point would be in addressing the causative factors associated with homelessness and developing of programs or interventions aimed at reducing the level of homelessness among young people. Carter (2015) indicates that most programs in the society should be person centered to address the varying needs of the people.
Use of supported accommodation or housing has significantly reduced the number of young people who are homeless. Supported accommodation provides a means in which homeless young individuals can live independently within the society. In most cases, homeless youths facing similar issues would be placed in similar settings and as a result, they would largely grow together and have some form of social and moral support to guide them through the entire stage. Supported accommodation has also been shown to provide young people with new opportunities for jobs and volunteering positions which keep them busy and away from the streets. The presence of homeless youth in a society is an indicator that the current social system are not working effectively in managing the aspiration and needs of the society. The use of supported accommodation aims at dealing with the situation. Supported accommodations systems have been indicated to increase the social support system for homeless young people and in the process improves their mental health (Centerpoint 2017, p. 8). Homeless adults have been indicated to experience some form of social disruption especially due to the disruption of the informal support networks and in the process experience some level of social isolation which makes it more difficult for them to adapt into the social structure of the society (Gewirtz et al. 2008, p. 820). Effective systems such as supported accommodation strengthen, supplement and substitute the negative social feelings and provide a new method and environment that homeless individuals could use to cope with stress (Watts et al. 2015b, p. 40). Such system develops social networks which reduce the frequencies of different mental illness which are common when young people become homeless. However, for homeless youth to seek such services they need to break away from some of the barriers which may limit their entrance into the supported accommodation service. Some common individual barriers include denial of the current problem, pressure to focus on other issues such as basic resources like food, shelter and clothing, fear of never being taken seriously, lack of knowledge about different services and lack of knowledge about such services (de la Haye et al. 2012, p. 606). Systemic barriers which may limit entrance into such a service include transportation problems, lack of respect and prejudice, and fragmented services. When a multi-agency approach is used access to supported accommodation for homeless youth become easier. Various organizations have established various shelter works which cater for more than 100,000 young people as well as providing online information on housing (Shelter Worksheet 2013, p. 12). Numerous other teams have come together in such a model to assist the young people who are homeless by assisting young people in coming out the streets. McDonagh (2011) indicates the need to develop and integrated approach in dealing with the needs of homeless people incorporating their healthcare, social and housing needs. When taking care of the homeless is exclusively left for the house supporting agencies, there is an increased possibility that the workers may feel isolated and out of their depth and may not fulfill their obligations as required.
References
Bramley, G. & Fitzpatrick, S., 2018. Homelessness in the UK: who is most at risk? Housing Studies, 33(1), pp.96–116.
Canada Without Poverty, 2012. Youth Rights! Right Now!,
Carter, L., 2015. Tackling Homelessness A Rapid Evidence Review Tackling Homelessness A Rapid Evidence Review Lauren Carter Public Policy Institute for Wales.
Centerpoint, 2017. Preventing youth homelessness,
Clarke, a & Burgess, G., 2015. Estimating the scale of youth homelessness in the UK. … : Cambridge Centre for …, (July).
Cutuli, J.J. et al., 2015. Youth homelessness: Prevalence and associations with weight in three regions. Health and Social Work, 40(4), pp.316–324.
Fitzpatrick, S. et al., 2017. The homelessness monitor: England 2017,
Fitzpatrick, S. et al., 2015. The homelessness monitor: Wales 2015. , (August), pp.1–108.
Fitzpatrick, S., Bramley, G. & Johnsen, S., 2013. Pathways into Multiple Exclusion Homelessness in Seven UK Cities. Urban Studies, 50(1), pp.148–168.
Fitzpatrick, S., Johnsen, S. & White, M., 2011. Multiple Exclusion Homelessness in the UK: Key Patterns and Intersections. Social Policy and Society, 10(4), pp.501–512.
Gewirtz, A., Hart-Shegos, E. & Medhanie, A., 2008. Psychosocial Status of Homeless Children and Youth in Family Supportive Housing. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(6), pp.810–823.
Gomez, R., Thompson, S.J. & Barczyk, A.N., 2010. Factors associated with substance use among homeless young adults. Substance Abuse, 31(1), pp.24–34.
Heath, S., 2008. Housing choices and issues for young people in the UK. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, (November), pp.1–41.
Hodgson, K.J. et al., 2013. Psychopathology in young people experiencing homelessness: a systematic review. American journal of public health, 103(6), pp.e24-37.
Hughes, J.R. et al., 2010. Youth Homelessness: The Relationships among Mental Health, Hope, and Service Satisfaction. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(4), pp.274–283.
de la Haye, K. et al., 2012. Who is Supporting Homeless Youth? Predictors of Support in Personal Networks. Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence, 22(4), pp.604–616.
Mayock, P., Parker, S. & Murphy, A., 2014. Young People, Homelessness and Housing Exclusion,
McDonagh, T., 2011. Tackling homelessness and exclusion: understanding complex lives,
Murphy, E., 2016. What do we know about homelessness in NI? An overview of some of the evidence-base. Available at: http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/raise/publications/2016-2021/2016/communities/4216.pdf [Accessed April 15, 2018].
Quilgars. D, J.S. and P.N., 2008. Youth homelessness in the UK-A decade of progress?,
Quilgars, D., 2012. Homeless people. Youth in the United Kingdom. In International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home. pp. 156–160.
Quilgars, D., Fitzpatrick, S. & Pleace, N., 2011. Ending Youth Homelessness: Possibilities, Challenges and Practical Solutions. Centre for Housing Policy, (July), p.62.
Quilgars, D., Johnsen, S. & Pleace, N., 2008. Youth Homelessness in the UK. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/youth-homelessness-uk.
Rhoades, H., Winetrobe, H. & Rice, E., 2014. Prescription drug misuse among homeless youth. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 138(1), pp.229–233.
Saddichha, S., Mph, I.L. & Krausz, M.R., 2014. Physical and Mental Health Issues among Homeless Youth in British Columbia , Canada : Are they Different from Older Homeless Adults ? Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 23(3), pp.200–206.
Shelter UK, 2017. Until there’s a home for everyone. Homelessness in Britain in. , pp.1–10. Available at: https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/1440053/8112017_Far_From_Alone.pdf [Accessed April 14, 2018].
Shelter Worksheet, 2013. Shelter factsheet Young people and homelessness. , pp.1–15. Available at: www.shelter.org.uk [Accessed April 15, 2018].
Shinn, M., 2010. Homelessness , Poverty and Social Exclusion in the United States and Europe. European Journal of Homelessness, 4, pp.19–44.
Stewart, M. et al., 2010. Supporting Homeless Youth: Perspectives and Preferences. Journal of Poverty, 14(2), pp.145–165.
Tompsett, C.J., Domoff, S.E. & Toro, P.A., 2013. Peer Substance Use and Homelessness Predicting Substance Abuse from Adolescence Through Early Adulthood. American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(3–4), pp.520–529.
Watts, B.;, Johnsen, S.; & Sosenko, F., 2016. Heriot-Watt University Youth Homelessness in the UK. Ovo Foundation, pp.1–142. Available at: https://pureapps2.hw.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/9258335 [Accessed April 14, 2018].
Watts, B., Johnsen, S. & Sosenko, F., 2015a. Youth Homelessness in the UK : A Review for The OVO Foundation. , (November), pp.1–141. Available at: https://ihurerblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/youth-homelessness-in-the-uk.pdf [Accessed April 14, 2018].
Watts, B., Johnsen, S. & Sosenko, F., 2015b. Youth Homelessness in the UK : A Review for The OVO Foundation. , (November), pp.1–141.
