Youth homelessness
“A chat may be all that’s needed to prevent a disagreement escalating into a matter for social services” ‘Breathing Space’ is a pilot project that has been set up by Lancashire County Council and funded by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to prevent and reduce youth homelessness in East Lancashire. The project aims to make it easier for young people to get the help they need before they find themselves with nowhere to live. Sarah Shorrock, Project Coordinator at Breathing Space, tells us about how the project is having an impact on youth homelessness in the area.
You’ve worked with more than 500 young people to prevent them becoming homeless. How have you done this? At Lancashire County Council, we knew that young people were finding themselves on the street or sofa
psychological and practical barriers that can prevent
walking into council offices to register yourself as
people accessing help when they need it the most.
homeless is intimidating, especially for young people
Our website provides information about the range of services available to young people in East Lancashire, depending on their circumstances and where they
who are used to doing everything online. We know parents and carers can also hesitate to reach out when they need help.
live. Prospective service users can contact us by SMS,
Because of this, we offer online chat and SMS as a
instant messaging or phoning us for further advice, to
method of contact so service users can get in touch
be referred to contact service providers directly.
easily and confidentially, even when other statutory services have closed.
of homelessness, and their families or carers.
As you are engaging with young audiences through digital methods of communication, how does this work and what has been the impact?
Breathing Space has been designed to feel as little
Traditionally, accessing homelessness support would
The beauty of instant messaging and texting is the
as possible like a statutory service. The name, style,
involve a potentially daunting meeting at the council
privacy that they allow. Our advisors are available until
tone and contact methods all aim to break down the
offices with a service provider or social worker. But,
8pm, and beyond if possible. Having someone to share
surfing because they were reluctant to ask for help from statutory services or they didn’t know where to turn. We applied for government funding to enable us to take a different approach to preventing youth homelessness and set up Breathing Space as a result. It offers a single point of advice for people aged 14 to 25 who are at risk
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The informality of an instant message or text breaks down barriers: young people don’t seem to feel as much pressure as they may do approaching a service face-to-face or during a traditional assessment.
