THE BRUNSWICK STREET BOARDING HOUSE

A PROPOSAL FOR A DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM FOR HOMELE$S YOUNG PEOPLE

67 Brunswick Street,Fitzroy, Vic. 3065 January, 1981.

(Mrs) CQncetta BennAssociate Director - SocialPolicy & Research

Brotherhood of St Laurence

THE BRUNSWICK STREET BOARDING HOUSE

A PROPOSAL FOR A DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM FOR HOMELESS YOUNG PEOPLE

INTRODUCTION

Young homeless people are not a new group in Australian society;both public and private welfare organisations have been attemptingto meet their needs for many decades. Two examples from the pastwhich are well-known to most people are the Brotherhood's hostelfor homeless boys established in Fitzroy in 1934, and the hostelfor homeless girls set up by the Citizens' Welfare Service in1965. Increased attention has been drawn to this group in recentyears because it appears to have grown dramatically. This growthis often attributed to the growth of youth unemployment - a trendwhich started well before the current economic recession.2 Whilethere is some evidence for the relationship between the growth inthe homeless youth group and the increased rate of unemployment3

the exact nature of that relationship is not known. It is possiblethat an equally important cause for the growth of the homelessyouth group is the increasing rate of family break-up. Whateverthe exact relationship, it is clear that unemployment has exacer-bated, and made more visible, the problem of homelessness amongstyoung people.

1. An attempt was made to find a title for the program which was stigma-free, the best solution seemed to be to use the name of the street· inwhich the house will be situated. The original title 'IndependentLiving Unit' presupposes need and singles out its inmates.

2. Youth unemployment began to increase relative to adult unemploymentin 1972, when unemployment amongst the 15-17 year old group was morethan three times that of adults over 25 years.

3. The Youth Accommodation Report produced by the Victorian Consulta-tive Committee in May, 1979, did establish this relationship, butthis report does have some serious methodological faults.

~2-

Youth unemployment is a world-wide problem which is deemed to havemany causes. Explanations for youth unemployment are strongly in-fluenced by the ideological position of the person considering theproblem. Suggested causes range from the laziness or apathy ofyoung people Oblaming the victim) through the post~war oaby boom(a demographic factor) to the weak, competitive position of youngpeople on the labour market Ca structural factor) 4. Whatever thecause of the problem, the reality is that the younger the personcompeting in the labour market, the higher the likelihood of '''In'em-ployment. In November, 1980, the ,unemployment rate for the 15....19age group looking for full-time work was 16.8, more than threetimes the national average for the population as a whole. 5

The increase in the numbers of homeless young people makes. it dif-ficult for the problem to remain hidden, and the proliferation ofthe unemployment indus.try has ensured that it has become veryvisible. When welfare workers report that young people are sleep-ing in the laundries of Housing Commission estates6, or in Brother-hood collection bins because they have no other shelter, then theproblem cannot be ignored.

To-day, most young people who wish to enter the workforce are dis-advantaged. The increase in the duration of the unemployment ofyoung people emphasises this fact - nearly half the people aged15-19 years who were unemployed in JulY, 1980, had been so for morethan 26 weeks.7 However, it is also true that some young peopleare more disadvantaged than others, and that lack of education andvocational skills, sex, area or residence, and a migrant backgroundincrease their disadvantaged status.8 For example, a young Greekgirl who enters the workforce in Frankston with a poor educationand no specific work skills is unlikely to obtain work for manymonths, if at all. The apathy which arises out of long-term unem-ployment has been observed by many researchers, most recently by (t

4. Youth Unemployment: Diagnosis of a Stubborn Problem, the OECD Observer,No. 105, July 1980.

5. Unemployment Preliminary Estimates, Australian Bureau of Statistics, De-cember 1980, p.3.

6. Life of the Urban Nomads, 'The Age', October 24, 1980.

7. The Labour Force. Australian Bureau of Statistics, August 1980, p.3.

8. Disadvantaged Workers & Employment: Policies, Programs & Jobs, (A ReportCommissioned by the Victorian Social Welfare Department), Brotherhood ofSt Laurence, March 1979.

-3-

Graeme Brewer in the latest Brotherhood publication, 'Out of work,Out of Sight', and this apathy is a major ingredient for chronicunemployment. Thus the Greek girl's destiny is either marriageor admission to that group of 'hard core' unemployed, which areone of the main groupings amongst Brotherhood clients. Glen Al-derson draws out the implications of the relationship betweenyouth unemployment and homelessness in the following graphicterms.

The effects of prolonged unemployment on all young people ingeneral gains increasing community concern. Distressingexamples come to light of severe psychological disturbances,family break-ups, ever-increasing problems of homelessnessand so on, but less attention is paid to this problem as ex-perienced by the especially vulnerable young from low-incomefamilies. They will fall further and further behind and theeffects of this will reach far into the future.

It is in this context that the Brotherhood has decided, that theironly new project this year should be a program for unemployed home-less youth who are particularly disadvantaged. This decision wasmost appropriate in the Brotherhood's jubilee year, as one ofits original programs was a hostel for homeless unemployed boysestablished in 1934. Since that time, various programs for dis-advantaged young people have been undertaken by the Brotherhood,culminating in a commitment to youth development through an ac-tivities program in the Action & Resource Centre for Low-IncomeFamilies (ARC),9 and through a contribution to the funding of theFitzroy Community Youth Centre.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Several aspects of Brotherhood activity in the past have culminatedin this proposal, and because of the importance of the historicaldevelopment of any idea, they are fully recounted below. The twomost recent activities were: the provision of part of a salary in1978 for Sue Kirkegard to service the Youth Committee of the Home-less Persons Council; 10 and the Needs/Action Review undertaken for

9. ARC is the organisation for low-income families which developed fromthe Brotherhood's earlier Family Centre Project. Although the Bro-therhood is the major funder of ARC, it is managed independently byits consumers.

10. Sue Kirkegard is now the Co-ordinator of the Youth Accommodation Coa-lition and her salary is funded by the Department of Youth, Sport &Recreation.

-4-

the Brotherhood by Glen Alderson in 1979. This review was thelatest of the periodic internal reviews of the Brotherhood, itsaim was to examine "the needs of service consumers and evaluationof the effectiveness of services delivered to them".ll One of themajor recommendations made in the review concerned youth services.

It is recommended that the Brotherhood develop a program to assistyoung, low-income people to develop their independent living andcoping skills and their general support systems. Possibilitiesthat should be further looked at relating to this program includejob co-operatives, skill sharing, skill training, and back-up sup-port for independent communal living. 12

The history of Brotherhood service delivery to disadvantaged youth _can be traced through its various publications, where it is evident ~that in the lasr nine years, the Brotherhood's commitment to youngpeople has been fulfilled through the Family Centre Project/Action& Resource Centre initiative.

Youth work in ARC with low-income young people is described by theARC workers and young people below. It should be remembered thatwork with young people in Brotherhood programs has always built onthe practice wisdom of previous programs, for example, the mobilecamping activity which began in 1967.

As one of the resources it has made available to low-income families,ARC has worked closely with the teenagers as part of ARC's low-incomecommunity. Implicit in this approach has been the recognition thatthese teenagers are a disadvantaged group who have special, needswhich are not necessarily catered for by other youth and communityorganisations. This work has given ARC a deeper understanding of theproblems and needs of disadvantaged teenagers, particularly in rela-tion to recreation, education and employment.

Youth work with the teenagers has principally been carried out through:a weekly developmental teenage program, camps and holiday programs, in-volvement of their families in Centre activities, the use of resources,

11. Pride & Poverty: Examination of Unfilled Needs, Glen Alderson, Brother-hood of St Laurence, 1980, p.l.

12. Ibid, p.88.

-5-

such as legal help within ARC, advocacy and support for teen-agers in official institutions, involvement of the teenagersin the decision-making processes in the Centre.

ARC has, therefore, not only developed relationships and linkswith disadvantaged youth as an integral part of the organisa-tion, but also built up an expertise in working with them ina unique way which has provided help, activities, and programs.

ARC has regular contact with about eighty teenagers through theprovision of its resources, programs and activities and has oc-casional contacts and links with many other young people throughother organisations and schools, or when help is sought by them.

Of those teenagers with whom the Centre has regular contact thereare forty-one males and thirty-nine females. Of the males, seven-teen are unemployed, and have been unemployed for periods longerthan six months over the past two years. A further nine have hadserious difficulties at school which have necessitated the involve-ment of the Youth Worker, and the continuance of which has indica-ted that they will be forced to leave school in the near future.The corresponding figures for the females are eleven unemployedand twelve with school difficulties.

ARC's exoerience suggests that this situation will continue forsome time and that the great majority of those who do leave schoolwill find themselves joining the ranks of the long-term unemployed.

Unemployment and lack of income are directly linked with the problemof accommodation for young people. In the first six months of 1979,the Youth Worker in ARC has personally put up eight young people whenno other suitable accommodation could be found, and has sought accom-modation for eleven others during the same perjad. In the Youth Wor-ker's assessment, there are about thirty-one teenagers from amongstthe qroup with whom ARC has regular contact who, at the moment,could potentially benefit from a program that helped them developskills for independent living.13

The work of Brotherhood Youth Workers over many years has con-firmed the ARC worker's experience with young low-income people,that many of them do not have the skills for independent livingwhich most middle-class children learn in their homes, forexample, budgeting, marketing, cooking, and personal relation-ship skills. There are a variety of reasons for this lack ofskill, but most of them stern from broken homes and poverty, forexample, some parents were raised in old-fashioned orphanages

13. Proposal for an Independent Living Program at Thornbury House, "developedby Rob Hudson, in conjunction with the young people and workers of ARC,July 1979,pp.3-5.

-6-

and do not have the skills to pass on, some people live such ahand-to-mouth existence that time, and resources are not avail-able to learn every-day skills.

The ARC workers and younq people thought it was important thatthe chances of survival of low-income young people should atleast be 'equalised with those of better-off sections of the ~om-munity. Consequently, they developed the idea of a house wherea group of young people could live together in shared accommoda-tion and be helped by sympathetic adults to gain skills in manag-ing their own lives. In their own words:

Many young people in their middle and late teens, want to, or needto, live independently in shared houses, flats, board, etc.However, many of them fail to manage this successfully. Theirinability to cope can be caused by a large n:umber of factors rang-ing from isolation and loneliness, on the one hand, to more prac-tical problems such as unemployment, lack of an adequate income,inability to manage finances, inability to develop a domesticroutine, to get jobs done and so on. The program proposed is togive these younq people a comprehensive preparation for indepen-dent living so that they will have a good chance of succeedingwhen they go on to whatever form of independent living they even-tually choose .14

At the time when the 'Independent Living Unit' proposal was de-veloped, the Action & Resource Centre was managing a house ownedby the Brotherhood in Thornbery, and using it as emergenc" accom-modation for low-income people. In effect, the proposal was arequest to the Brotherhood for the re-orientation of this re-source to meet the needs of low-income youth for accommodation.

The Brotherhood Executive rejected the ARC proposal because itwas unconvinced that the building was suitable for the proqramor that ARC workers had the necessary management and supervisoryskills to conduct it. However, the idea of the need for youthaccommodation of this sort was accepted in principle and laterconfirmed by the NeedS/Action Review. The Thornbury house wassold and the Associate Director (Social Planning, Research, In-novation) was asked to explore the idea further.

14. Ibid, p. 12.

-7-

For a short time, planning was halted because Brotherhood budgetprojections for 1980-81 indicated a deficit and a decision wasreached that new initiatives would not proceed until the moneywas in hand to ensure their completion. In particular, it wasthought this program required a three-year experimental periodbefore it was assessed as a useful way of transfering necessaryskills to young people. Part of the experiment would be to testthe replicability of the program as all the evidence is that theneed for accommodation for homeless young people will be on-going, one important component of testing the replicability be-ing a cost-benefit analysis.

In July, 1980, the Diocese of Melbourne of the Church of Englandapproached the Brotherhood Board about undertaking a joint initia-tive focussing on youth unemployment the approach involved agrant of $50,000 to help fund the program. A house for-unem-ployed youth where they could learn independent living skillswas proposed and accepted. Since that time, other smaller dona-tions have been made towards the program. These approaches haveenabled planning to proceed and this proposal is a result ofthat further exploration.

The final factor of historical siqnificance is that the ARC peoplehave also developed a proposal which contains many of the elementsof their original 'Independent Living Unit' proposal. This pro-posal entitled 'A Youth & Community Centre' was one of the threeoptions presented by ARC to the Brotherhood for ARC's future de-velopment. However, this proposal was not the option preferredfor ARC, either by its own members or by the Brotherhood. How-ever, many of the ideas and the experience of ARC are an integ-ral part of this proposal and ARC youth workers have been consul-ted throughout the process of its approval within the Brother-hood.

MEETING THE NEED

More than ever before, the social problem caused by the lack ofaccommodation for young people who are forced to leave theirhomes has received closer attention, and a greater share of thewelfare dollar. There are now 30 youth hostels and a dozen pro-jects providing emergency accommodation and support services foryoung people through the Youth Accommodation Services Program(YASP). However, there are still extensive needs for long-term

-8-

accommodation for non-wards, particularly in some areas of Mel-bourne ..15

Although. the new fundinq for emergency Youth Accommodation($526,000 p.a.) under the YAS proqram was most welcome, it waspatchy, leaving some important areas, e.g. the LaTrobe Valleyand the north-eastern suburbs without government funding for.emergency services. Also, emerqency accommodation does notprovide the stability and security a young person needs to es-tablish him/herself as a person capable of living independently.Longer term accommodation is needed "where young people can af-ford to live and where they can have the support of significantadults and f~iends".16

Apart from emergency accommodation in projects and long-term ac-commodation for State wards, the only other form of accommodationwhich is available to younq people not living at home is to befound in commercial boarding houses. The cost of this type ofaccommodation prohibits its use by young people who are not work-ing.17

Apart from their accommodation needs, young, disadvantaged peopleoften need to learn the simple survival skills involved in inde-pendent livinq. Attempts are made to teach these skills pluswork skills in many government funded programs. For example, theLife Skills Program run by the Victorian Department of CommunityWelfare Services in the Western Region, the Community Youth Sup-port Service, the Educational Program for Unemployed Youth, andthe new School-to-Work Transition Program conducted by the Common-wealth Department of Employment & Youth Affairs and State Educa-tion Departments. ~

15. In gazetted youth hostels, two-thirds of the bed space !.lustbe reservedfor those people who are the legal responsibility of the Department ofCommunity Welfare Services.

16. Sue Kirkegard in Shelter Victoria Newsletter, June 1980.

17. The cheapest board available in such boarding houses is $20 p.w. andthis. often does not include food. Unemployed young people under 16years are not eligible for Unemployment Benefit, those between 16-18years receive $36 p.w. and those single persons over 18 years, $53.45p.w. For those under 18 years, the benefit has 'not been increasedsince May, 1975, while the Consumer Price Index has risen by 62.6%resultinq in an erosion of $23.60 p.w. in the benefit. Similarly, thebenefit of those over 18 years and single has not increased since May,1978, and the benefit has been eroded by $10'•.50.

-9-

However, none of these survival/work skill programs are residen-tial and so fail to meet the needs of the disadvantaged youngperson who is not a ward, and who needs a home whilst he islearning these skills. The experience of the Brotherhood'sFamily Centre Proiect/ARC program has revealed that this groupof people need both temporal and physical space in order tolearn the skills of independent living. This concept is notnew, being referred to by earlier practitioners as the need ofyoung people for a 'moratorium' during adolescence to ensure'adequate development of their potentialities. Short-term ac-commodation or non-residential skills learning programs provideneither the time, nor the security, to make up for the deficitsexperienced by many disadvantaged young people during theirchildhood.

A program which will meet all the needs of this qroup of youngpeople at the same time is envisaqed in this proposal. So far,in the voluntary sector, attempts to meet both the need for ac-commodation and survival or independent living skills for disad-vantaged younq people have been piecemeal and fragmentary. Thepeople involved in providinq such services have been constrainedby lack of funding, both from the public and private sectors,rather than by energy, skill and motivation.

The uniqueness of the envisaged program lies in the combinationof developmental opportunities and choices which it provides:

**

long-term accommodationi

the opportunity to develop survival skills throughskill transference methodsi

* the opportunity to participate in the manaqementproceSSi

*

*

*

*

the opportunity to become part of a group throughwhich personal relat~onship skills can be developedi

the opportunity to develop local linkages which mightprovide support after leaving the accommodationi

the opportunity to choose permanent accommodation froma range of optionsi

the opportunity to be supported in the early stages ofliving in permanent accommodation.

-10-

The proposal which follows is an attempt to provide the abovelist of opportunities for homeless voung people in the oneprogram. The entry of the Brotherhood into a field which isnew to the agency is legitimised by its previous experiencein developmental task-oriented programs.

THE PROPOSAL

The above description concerning the previous history of Bro-therhood services to youth, the explanation of its mandate tocontinue to provide services, a description of the need forservices, and the attempts of organisations to meet those needs,is a necessary preamble to the proposal. So, too, is an outlineof the assumptions and obiectives on which the proqram is based,and the planning factors which are involved in the recommenda- (tion. The framework for the proposal takes the following order:assumptions, objectives, planning factors, recommendation, im-plementation.

Assumptions Underlying a Developmental Program for Homeless Youth

1. The numbers of homeless disadvantaged young people willincrease.

2. That some younq people are disadvantaged.by the unequaland unjust distribution of opportunities for personaldevelopment in Australian societv.

3. That resources, in particular tempora~ and physical space,are requirements for personal development.

4. That independent livinq skills can be learnt through skilltransference, experiental learning and participation in de-cision making about the choice of life-style to be pursued.

5. That experimental services of this type are essential toprovide knowledge for policy development and social ac-tion programs to chanqe those institutions which contri-bute to the unequal distribution of opportunities foryounq disadvantaged people.

6. That links with .families and friends are maintained andexisting networks strenqthened if accommodation servicesto young people are locally based.18

18. This sixth assumption is stated with some reservation. Although net-work theory is currently fashionable, it has been the author's ex-perience that a great number of disadvantaged young people do not de-velop or maintain networks due to the mobility of their families - mo-bility caused by the inadequate housing provision for low-income peoplein Victoria.

-11-

Objectives of a Developmental Program for Homeless Youth

One of the lessons which has been learnt from the recent demon-stration projects conducted by the Brotherhood, for example, theFamily Centre Project, SPAN and the Neighbourhood Employment De-velopment Project, has been that a multiplicity of goals is adeterrent to successful outcomes in an experimental program.The objectives, or goals of a program must be simple, clearlyexpressed, and few in number. Martin Rein has expressed thisidea in the following way:

A proliferation of goals in a program usually reflects low con-fidence in major achievements. Multiplicity and alteration ofgoals often substitutes for effectiveness of action. 19

With Martin Rein's comments and Brotherhood experience in mind,the following objectives have been devised:

1. To provide an environment for disadvantaged, homelessyoung people in which they can master the social, prac-tical and relationship skills necessary for independentliving.

2. To ensure that young disadvantaged people can remain inthis enabling environment until they'choose to test newlyacquired independent living skills in the community.

3. To test the techniques of skill transference, mutual sup-port, self-help and participation in decision making asthe means of developing independent living skills.

4. To improve the access of disadvantaged unemployed youngpeople to the community's permanent accommodation resour-ces by developing a network of accommodation alternatives,and providing information and funds to enable their utili-zation.

5. To help young people develop and/or strengthen their linkswith the community into a support network which will sus-tain them when they move into permanent accommodation.20

6. To ensure that the information obtained from the programis used to change government policy towards homeless youngpeople to improve accommodation and support services forthem.

19. Rein, Martin. 'The Demonstration as a Strategy of Change', Social POlicy:Issues of Choice and Change, Random House, New York, 1970.

20. This objective supports the argument .for a local program and acts as amitigating force against institutionalization of the program and depen-dency of the young people on it.

-lla-

In May, 1981, the Diocese of Melbourne clearly formulated itsaims with regard to this proposal. The aims provided an em-phasis in the overall project which should be kept in mindthroughout its duration. One expectation of the Diocese isthat the process and performance of Church participation willbe an integral part of the project's evaluation. The aims ~reas follows:

1. To encourage and support a community based and directedprogram.

2. To promote the idea of a self-managed boarding house asan urgently needed program in which local congregationscan participate.

3. The project will include an exploration into the capa-city of parishes to participate in locally based de-velopmental welfare programs.

4. To encourage individual Anglicans in parishes to developa personal interest in the project, to contribute theirpersonal skills and, by involvement in practical pro-jects, to bring out their latent skills.

(The SPAN Program in Northcote has brought to lightskills that older people possess which can be of use toyounger people).

5. To examine locally based initiatives which could be de-veloped in other parishes, in the light of the evalua-tion of the project.

"-6. To extend the Church's natural interest boundaries into.

such wider community affairs.

7. To encourage and utilize, wherever possible, co-opera-tion with other Churches and community bodies.

8. To publicly support the project and thereby help to es~tablish its bonafide in the community.

9. The Diocesan Consultant in Welfare and Community has adirect role in 7 and 8 and the overall project.

10. In the appointment of staff, the expectations of the aus-pieing bodies should be borne in mind.

11. The process and the performance of Church participationshould be an integral part of the project's evaluation.

-12-

Planning Factors

When a new program is being devised, there are several questionswhich must always be considered despite the type of program orthe system in which it intervenes. A discussion of these commonquestions as they relate to this particular program follow:

Location

Should the program be located centrally in close prox-imity to other programs conducted by the auspice; orin the area demonstrating the greatest need?

a) A locally-based program would mean that the youngpeople may already have contacts with relativesand friends upon which they could build to forma permanent support network.

b) The Brotherhood experience in the King Street JobCentre and in the Unemployed Rights Service hasshown that a central location does not always of-fer the best service to consumers.

c) It is more possible for a program based in a localarea to become part of the local network of ser-vices with the consequent advantages of mutual sup-port and the exchange and integration of services.For example, if the program was situated in North-cote, it would form part or a network of servicesfor the young unemployed which includes NorthcoteUnemployed Resource Group, the Unemployed Workers'Union and SPAN, enabling the young people in theBoarding House to participate in, and exchange,services ·with all of them.

d) The Youth Accommodation Coalition Co-ordinator hasadvised that the regions with the greatest need foremergency accommodation are the north-east and thenorth-west, but that all regions have a need forlong-term accommodation.

Auspice

Questions about auspice are constrained by the fundingalready collectedj clearly, the Church of England andthe Brotherhood must be involved. However, both or-ganisations either are, or can be, regionalised.

-13-

In a recent seminar about Children's and Youth Servicesconducted in the Inner Urban Region,2l two prominentVictorian social workers, produced evidence to show that"community services should have a regional or local com-munity base"22 and, wherever possible, should be "acces-sible, have local input, encourage participation, andhave local decision-making responsibilities over fundingand pOlicy issues".23

From the Brotherhood's own experience in the 'SPAN: ACommunity Project for Older and Retired People', and theNeighbourhood Employment Development Program (NEDP)' pro-jects, community involvement is the main factor which isproducing successful outcomes. There are, of course, dif-ferent levels and types. of community involvement and the ~exact arrangements should be cleat- from the outset. From Vthe Brotherhood's point of view, it would be an interest-ing departure from previous practice to attempt to involvethe local community in service delivery at the outset,rather than 'hand over' the service to the community afterit is established.

Service or Demonstration

Arguments considered under this heading are:

a) The need for long-term accommodation has been demon-strated already by reports and other services. Allthat·will be tested is the method of providing theservice.

b) There is a great deal of statistical evidence that the ~need will be ongoing.

c) The Brotherhood has always provided some type of ser-vice for disadvantaged youth and with the change in

21. Held in the Carringbush Library, Richmond, on October 29, 1980.

22. Graeme Gregory, The Power and the Glory, paper delivered to an InnerUrban Region Seminar, October 1980.

23. Jenny Wills, 'Children and Youth in the Inner Urban Area', Ibid.

-14-

c) (con t 'd .)

ARC's goals will have to continue its service commit-ment in some other way.

d) Innovation is not unique to demonstration projects.Rothman lists the various characteristics of innova-tive organisations, all of which can apply to ser-vices, in particular, he has shown that any organisa-tion with many linkages to external influences canbe innovative.24

e) In a critical analysis of demonstration as a strategyof change, Martin Rein claims: "The assets of the de-monstration project are that it is fashionable, politi-cally attractive, rationally appealing, inexpensive andnot binding". He sees the disadvantages as promotingunequal distribution of money and resources, distractingfrom national policy and overemphasizing success.25 Al-though Martin Rein is discussing broad national demon-stration programs in this article, his comments do havesome application.

f) Demonstration programs require, by their very nature,much greater research inputs. For example, the Bro-therhood Unemployment Rights Service (a service pro-gram), has had little research input other than datacollection, whereas the SPAN program (a demonstrationproject) occupies half the time of one full-time re-searcher.

Target Group

The evidence presented in the VCCSD report showed that younggirls, 18 years and younger, were the largest group to seekaccommodation assistance from the organisations surveyed.The report states:

24. Jack Rothman, Planning & Organising for Social Change, Columbia Press,1974, p.457.

25. Martin Rein, op. cit., p.140.

-15-

For whatever reasons, the fact is that young girls are subjectto housing crises and the concomitant economic, social andmoral difficulties, at an earlier age than their male counter-parts. 26

However, part of independent living is to be able to live withpersons of both sexes, and this should be one of the skillslearnt in the program, therefore, the target group should in-clude a mixture of sexes. Similarly, a mixture of age group-ings is important.

The only other social characteristics the participants shouldpossess are that they are unemployed, and disadvantaged to theextent that they are likely to benefit from the skills trans- .~ference program. It is also preferable, although not manda- ,.,tory, that the participant is eligible for unemployment orother benefit as part of the program will be to learn finan-cial management skills.

Length of Stay and Follow-Up

Length of stay is governed by many variables; individual dif-ferences, level of disadvantage, readiness for independentliving, more permanent accommodation. However, it should bequite clear at the outset that length of stay is limited andsome contractual arrangement should be made with each youngperson at the beginning of the stay. Although length ofstay will vary with the person, the average length of stayis expected to be six months. The young person should de-cide on the actual date of departure within the generalterms of the original contract.

The eagerness of young people at this age to learn, and testthemselves out in the reai world will automatically limitthe duration of stay. However, mistakes27 will occur andthe task, of one of the workers in the house will be to sup-port the 'young person in the new accommodation and to keepthe door of the house open if return is indicated. It isexpected that returning to the house will be quite commonand at least one space should always be open for such emer-gencies.

26. Victorian Consultative Committee for Social Development, YouthAccommodation Report, August 1979.

27. Such often being an important part of experiential learning.

-16-

Size

Six to eight people is the optimal size of a group for thetransference of skills, for mutual support, and for commu-nal living. Apart from some large boarding houses, thissize appioximates the size of the various types of livingarrangements in the community. However, a rather largehouse will be required if accommodation for 6-8 people ofmixed sexes, plus staff, and an 'emergency' bed, is to beprovided. A smaller group may decrease the cost of pre-'mises, but increase the staffing costs by decreasing thestaffing/participant ratio. In summary, a house whichwill accommodate 10-12 people will be required.

Staffing

A great deal of the physical work in the house (cleaning,cooking, shopping, gardening) will be carried out by theparticipants as part of the skill learning program. Thus,the number of staff will be small and their tasks veryspecific, mainly requiring support/relationship and net-working abilities. Staff should be residential and chosenaccording to the tasks and abilities required, but a mix-ture of ages and sexes would be desirable. It is probablyimportant that one staff member is indigenous to the groupof participants; if possible, an indigenous person who hashad some experience or training in work with young people.

One of the indigenous youth workers from ARC who has hadin-service training is the type of worker required. Ano- ther staff member should have administrative, organisa-tional and community development skills.

The proposal has been designed on the basis that therewill be only two employed staff members. However, theexperience of other programs suggests that at least threestaff members will be needed. If resources allow this le-vel of staffing, the third person would be allocated someof the tasks envisaged for the two staff members alreadydescribed. It would be particularly useful to have moreinput in the following areas: the development of commu-nity linkages; the initiation of alternative accommoda-tion networks; the ability to select and support volun-teers.

-17-

It is important that unemployed volunteers (such as teachers)are used in the house for skill transference and relievingduties.28 Many of the tasks overlap and it will be diffl-cult to write exact job descriptions for the various peopleinvolved in the program. It should also be remembered thatskill transference may occur between participants, betweenneighbours and participants, as well as between expert volun-teers and participants.

Research

Expertise is required in this area, and researchers capableof social research are difficult to find; the Brotherhoodhas this expertise and as one of the groups represented inthe auspice, could be expected to provide this resource.The research input would be similar to that available toall Brotherhood services, that is, the setting up of a datacollection system and evaluation carried out periodically.The type of evaluation used in a demonstration program -monitoring and research feedback - is considered inappro-priate as it could produce a 'hot-house' effect which isnot used in accommodation houses and which might influencethe program's outcomes.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Brotherhood of St Laurence initiate. a new service forhomeless, disadvantaged, unemployed youth as part of its con-tribution to welfare services and to reaffirm its on-going com-mitment to disadvantaged young people. The service will· belocated in a large house which will be known as a boarding house.

The service will be composed of three elements:

28. It has been suggested that unemployed volunteers might not provide theskills or the continuity which this program requires. Family CentreProject experience belies this. Some unemployed professional peoplewere volunteers in the Project, particularly teachers, and welfareworkers between jobs. Frequently, they became so involved in the pro-ject that they continued as volunteers after they found work. It isthe suitability of the volunteer which is the most important factor,not his employment status. The selection and support of volunteersduring the program will be crucial. In addition, offering a caringservice is often very beneficial to the confidence and self-esteem ofthe unemployed person, while his unemployed status assists him to un-derstand some of the difficulties experienced by the participants inthe program.

-18-

a) it will provide long-term accommodation for 8-10young people of both sexes between the ages of15-18 years; 29

b) it will provide a skill transference program toassist the young people to obtain independentliving skills;

c) it will provide a follow-through service - seek-ing out and developing a network of alternative,permanent living arrangements in the communityin which the house is situated and offering sup-port during the transition between the boardinghouse and permanent accommodation alternatives.

The auspice for the new service should be a steering committeecomposed of persons working with young unemployed people in thechosen area, pIus represen tatives of ARC, BSL and the Church of ..England.

The BSL and the Church of England should guarantee funds forthe service, but the local steering committee should make allpolicy and funding decisions.30 Funds should be supplied, orresources obtained: to employ two staff members; to meet theshortfall between the costs of running the service,31 and thecontribution of the young people; to form a bond loan fund.32

29. It is often assumed that there are legal complications in housing ayoung person under 16 years. These difficulties are discounted in thefollowing article, 'Teenagers Leaving Home: The Legal Position', HelenGamble, in Living Together, Dorothy Davis et al (eds). Centre for Con-tinuing Education, A.N.U., Canberra, 1980.

30. Graeme Gregory in the paper quoted previously makes the following obser-vation: "None (traditional welfare agencies) to my knowledge, have saidto a community 'We have the resources, you have the need. Here is themoney, you determine its use, you fully manage the service, or facility,or organisation that meets your need.'"

31. It is envisaged that the young people would pay the 'communal living go-ing rates' for their board, but the program will entail charges whichare not usual, e.g.out-of-pocket expenses for volunteers, accommoda-tion of staff, etc., so that the board paid by the young people cannotfully meet the costs entailed in running the house and the program.

32. Those people who work in the field report that loans of bond· money toyoung people for accommodation have a high rate of return.

-19-

The house will be managed by the young people.33 The staff, al-though residential, wlIl work as resource people assisted byvolunteers who will be unemployed people with specific skills.At least one staff member shpuld be indigenous to the group forwhom the service is designed. '~---- .-----------~ -_. -" ~ ---'Service delivery methods should include local involvement, mutualsupport, self-help, skill transference and consumer participationin decision making - all methods which are useful in the pursuitof independent living skills.

A data collection system should be installed in the service atthe outset and a research consultant should be, available to thehouse at staff or participants' request.

IMPLEMENTATION

1. The first draft of the proposal was circulated and com-mented upon by relevant people within BSL and ARC. Itwas then redrafted. The proposal proceeded throughthe normal channels for approval within the Brotherhoodwhere the Executive decided that the most appropriateareas to test the proposal were Thornbury, Northcote,Fairfield, Kensington, Port Melbourne and Brunswick.

2. The proposal in its redrafted form will be circulatedto relevant people and organisations within these localcommunities and a reasonable time limit set for com-ments. An offer to discuss any aspect of the proposalwith its designer will also be made. On the basis ofthese comments and discussionp, one area will be chosenfor the site of the 'Boarding House. The proposal willthen be submitted for final approval to the BrotherhoodBoard and the relevant committee within the Diocese ofMelbourne of the Church of England.

3. A steering committee will be formed, composed of peoplewith relevant experience, from the local community sug-gested by the groups already circulated, plus represen-tatives of the Brotherhood, the Church of England and ARC.

33. Initially, management by participants will be difficult and it is ex-pected they will need a great deal of assistance until a core grouphas learnt management skills, after this phase it is expected thatparticipants will .transfer skills to each other.

-20-

3. (con t 'd .)

The main criteria for selection of committee membersshould be their ability to act as resource people tothe house when it is properly functioning.

4. The first task of the steering committee will be toselect a staff member with administrative skills forthe boarding house. 34

5.- The staff member, in consultation with the steeringcommittee, will then seek out a suitable building· inthe local area. (The General Manager of the HousingCommission has already offered assistance in purchas-ing a suitable building.)

The following steps in the implementation process are offeredmerely as suggestions. The Steering Committee may prefer a com-pletely different course of action and its wishes will prevail.

1. At the same time, the Steering Committee and the staffmember will explore government funding possibilities,for example, the Department of Youth, Sport & Recrea-tion through its Special Youth Development Program of-fers a subsidy/for the employment of full-time youthworkers by community agencies; and the CommonwealthGovernment offers assistance to youth organisationsthrough the Program of Assistance to Youth Organisa-tions (PAYO) grants. The fact that the program alreadyhas some funds committed to it will assist in this task.

2. After exploring funding possibilities, the Steering Com-mittee and the staff member will compile an accuratecosting of the boarding house and the program. Someguidance for this task is available in the report writ-ten by Eilish Cooke in 1977 for the Social Welfare De-partment, entitled 'Emergency Housing Service Program'.

34. Appendix A. contains a list of the sets of skills which the staff mem-bers will require for their tasks. This list is not exhaustive or man-datory, but an embryo set of guidelines which the steering committeemight find useful. It has been designed on the basis of two employedstaff, but tasks could be reallocated for three staff members.

-21-

2. (con t •d .)

One important factor in devising a budget for the programis that the young people living in the house are chargedthe type of rental they will eventually have to pay inthe community.

3. The staff member will occupy the house and a second staff.member (probably an indigenous worker) will be appointed,at least one staff member will live in the house. At. thesame time, referrals for accommodation will be acceptedfrom local community contacts. The first group of youngpeople to occupy the house will be chosen by the two staffmembers in consultation with the steering committee. Sub-sequent applicants will be chosen by the existing occupantsand the staff. It is assumed that, by this time, the first egroup of occupants will have learnt the appropriate skillsfor selection.

4.

5.

As soon as the house is occupied and the staff members ap-pointed, a research worker from the Brotherhood will be al-located to the program to set up a data collection systemwith the staff, and to be available for. consultation when-ever required. The Steering Committee, the staff and theparticipants may all require such consultation fr'om timeto time.

/

After the first group of occupants have arrived, a skillstransference program will be developed in conjunction withthe young people. People with the expertise to import theskills for independent living will be contacted (thesepeople could be Steering Committee members, volunteers,or professionals) In particular, volunteers who are unem-ployed and who have the required and needed skills will berecruited. In this context, it should be remembered thatthe young people themselves have skills and that part ofthe program will be the transference of skills to eachother. Part of the skills transference program will befor the young people to learn the necessary tasks involvedin running a house - cleaning, working, shopping, wash- .ing, etc. One of the special skills to be learnt is theways in which linkages into the community can be developedand existing networks with relatives and friends strengthened.

6. One of the goals of the program is that the young people willrun the program themselves, and part of the skills transfer-ence program will be to impart the necessary skills for themto do so. It is expected that the boarding house will alwayshave a core group who can transfer skills to newcomers.

-22-

7. After the first group of participants have 'settled down',the appropriate staff member will embark on the task ofcollecting information about existing permanent accommo-dation in the local community, e.g.' private boarding ar-rangements, communal households, Housing Commission flats,etc., and in developing new, permanent accommodation pos-sibilities.35 This information will be shared with theyoung people and eventually "matching by mutual consent"will occur. The 'support' staff member will be respon- .sible for overseeing the move into permanent accommoda-tion and maintaining contact with the young person accom-modated. The participants should feel secure in the know-ledge that they can return to the house if the arrangementproves to be unsuitable.

8. Every effort should be made to produce a normal living si-tuation, rather than a protected artificial environment,for example, the house should be 'elastic' enough to ac-commodate the occasional friend who wants to 'crash' onthe sitting-room floor because this behaviour is'part ofthe pattern of living of young unemployed people.

9. A full-scale evaluation of this service should occur afterit has been fully operating for two years. However, theparticipants mu~t agree to this evaluation and the reasonsfor it must be fully explained to them. Evaluation ratherthan an action-research program is suggested because theprogram is a service and not an experimental program, andin order to keep at a minimum, 'fish bowl' effects on theparticipants.

35. Appendix B. is a discussion paper on long-term housing options fordisadvantaged young people, prepared by Rob Hudson for the Brother-hood. It is offered as a resource document for the staff and Steer-ing Committe of the Boarding House.

-23-

APPENDIX A.

STAFFING ARRANGEMENTS

The participants will be responsible for their own housework,cooking, shopping and gardening as part of the independent liv-ing program. Consequently, the number of staff in the programwill be small. It is suggested that unemployed volunteers beused for skill transference programs and to reliev~ permanentstaff, whenever necessary. The two staff members should havethe ability to perform the following tasks (not exhaustive) •Although these tasks are listed separately, it will be diffi-cult to separate them. The lists also suggest that at leastone of these persons should be an indigenous worker. If fundsallow the appointment of a third worker, one task which couldbe developed is that of housing officer to seek out the variousforms of permanent accommodation mentioned in Appendix B. forBoarding House participants, and also act as a resource personfor other young homeless people.

Staff Member Appointed First

\a) Work with Steering Committee

to find house and write sub-missions for funding.

b) Select first group of partici-pants.

c) Select volunteers on the basisof their skills, and organisesupport mechanisms for them.

d) Organise skill transference pro-gram.

e) Liaise with Steering Committeeand form linkages with communitygroups and government agenciesimportant to young people, e.g.police.

f) Develop and seek out various formsof permanent accommodation. Inconjunction with other staff mem-ber and the group 'match' partici-pants to accommodation.

Staff Member Appointed Second

a) Welcome and support participantsin initial stages.

b) Organise group into rosters toperform household duties.

c) Work with group to form a co-operative management structure.

d) Assess the readiness of partici-pants to 'move on', includingliaisons between them that mayresult in permanent arrangements.

e) Oversee the move of participantsinto permanent accommodation andsupport them while necessary.

APPENDIX B.

"AFTER THE BOARDING HOUSE

A Discussion Paper on

Longer-Term Housing Options for

Disadvantaged Young Peop1~

"

Rob Hudson

16 December, 1980.

"AFTER THE BOARDING HOUSE"

It is anticipated that each young person will stay at "TheBoarding House" for up to six months, during which time they _will participate in the life of the house. However, it is alsoenvisaged that from the outset the length of stay will be deter-mined in conjunction with each young person,· and that they willbe working towards a stage where they can utilize more indepen-dent and longer-term housing options in the community, with orwithout the ongoing support of staff from the project. In thiscontext the project will need to look at developing a range oflonger-term housing options that is based on a network of accom-modation in the community and which can eventually be utilizedindependently by the young people themselves. Some of the pos-sibilities that can be developed are:

1. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FUND

(a) Financial assistance could be provided to young people leav-ing "The Boarding House" to meet costs involved in:

- removal expenses, bonds, advance rent, basic householdneeds, food, clothing and transport.

(b) Assistance could be coupled with budgeting and saving skillswhere required. (This will be part of the skills transferencein this program anyway.)

(c) Although ability to repay is not a criterion for assistance,finance will be provided on a loan basis and the young peoplewould be expected to pay back the amount owing over a periodof time. 1

(d) Assistance could be geme-rally limited to say $150 per personor $350 per household in the case of a group.'

(e) It is suggested that assistance be limited to situations whereno alternative finance can .be secured, nor other means exist.

(f) The young person should also have the ability to cope withdaily survival matters and meet ongoing living costs in thesituation assistance is provided for.

The Financial Assistance Fund could provide assistance to estab-lish young people in a range of longer-term housing options asfollows:

Those people who work in the field report that loans of bond money to youngpeople for accommodation have a high rate of return.

2

(1) A network of families prepared to provide boarding arrange-ments.

(2) Semi-autonomous households, provided in proporties inititallyleased by the boarding house and-sub-let back to groups af young people.

(3) A network of middle to long-term housing in the private mar-ket as well as the public sector.

These longer-term housing options could be specifically developedby one af the workers in the project.

2. A NETWORK OF FAMILIES PREPARED TO PROVIDE BOARDING ARRANGEMENTS

eSuch a housing worker would develop a network of families preparedto provide boarding-arrangements for young people. These familieswould be carefully selected, provided with ongoing support and in-dividually matched with young people from "The Boarding House".

The possible advantages, and type of young person likely to.preferthis option could include:

(a) A very young person who requires a lot of individual atten-tion and the support of a "family".

(b) A young person who finds it difficult to live with a groupof other young people and would therefore be unlikely tochoose one of the other options.

(c) A young person still at school who needs a "quiet space" to taestudy and lacks alternative forms of financial support.

(d) A young person who is likely to be "exploited" in an oldergroup household.

(e) An unemployed young person under 16 years of age who isineligible for unemployment or special benefit.

Possible limitations on this particular option include:

(a) The type of housing stock that exists in the inner urbanarea - a lot of the houses are quite small, both in termsof the number of bedrooms and their size, so many familliesare unlikely to have a "spare" room to take on a border.2

2 In this workers opinion it is highly undesirable to place young people with

families outside their local community. From personal experience wheneverthis has occurred, it has usually failed .

.,.

3

(b) A large proportion of low-income families would find itdifficult, both in terms of finances and resources, to takeon and support a boarder.

(c) The relevant government departments provide few financialincentives for households to take on young people. Forexample, the Department of Community Welfare Services pro-vides only $20 a week in the form of non-parents supplemen-tary assistance to anyone other than the natural parents.who take on responsibility for looking after a young person.(Incidentally, this assistance is not advertised in any DCWSpamphlet.) This must be compared to DCWS assistance to statewards living with substitute parents which includes a boardsubsidy up to $30 per week, plus $12.50 pocket,money plusfares and ancillary benefits. The other major source ofassistance in this area is family allowances from SocialSecurity.

(d) The resources the program has to develop and support suchoptions.

possible models for a network of board in households that couldbe looked at include:

(1) "S.H.A.C.", (Supportive Housing And Care), Blackburn.

(2) "Foster Care Westernport", Dandenong.

(3) "E.A.S.Y." Scheme, Y.W.C.A., Adelaide.

(4) "Stretch-A-Farnily", Annandale, Sydney.

(5) "stopover's" Boarding Scheme with Inner Urban H •.C..V. Estates.

(6) ."H.A.L.F.", (Housing Advice For Lodgers in Fitzroy).

3. SEMI-AUTONOMOUS HOUSEHOLDS

Such a "middle" option could include houses and flats leased bythe project and sub-let back to groups of young people. Theseproperties could be acquired through the private market or theHousing Commission. Initial staff support would taper to thepoint where the household would become completely autonomousand take over the leasing arrangements. Alternatively, ongoingsupport could also be provided in such households by "volunteers"from the program, (students, unemployed people, young people whohave been through "The Boarding House"), who have achieved in-dependent living.

4

The advantages of this particular option include:

(a) It offers free accommodation to a group of "volunteers"who particularly need it.

(b) The other young people in the household have the oppor-tunity to live with someone who has achieved independentliving and is capable of "modelling" household skillslike budgeting, cooking and cleaning.

(c) There are far fewer problems of "hangers-on" disruptingor exploiting the household.

(d) Friction with neighbours is reduced, and where it occursthere is the advantage of having someone capable of deal-ing with this constructively.3

(e) It provides the opportunity for the household to engagein experiential learning in a more independent, but stillsupportive, environment.

(f) It would allow the program to act as a "buffer" for thoseyoung people who are not yet of legal age to sign leases,or are subject to discrimination and prejudice by land-lords.

(g) It would allow the young person to gradually move fromdependency through to total independence as they developindependent living skills.

Possible limitations on this particular:option include:

(a) The extent to which the HCV is prepar~d to make availableflats for such a program under its "Singles and Sharing"Scheme, as well as the general shortage of pub ric housing.

(b) The present lack of clarity from the HCV on its policiesfor single sharing and current inadequacies in its imple-mentation.

(c) The possibility that landlords may not be prepared to leaseproperties to the program knowing that they are going tobe occupied predominantly by a group of young people.

(d) The resources the program has to develop and support suchoptions.

3. These first four points have been cited as advantages by the SalvationArmy Youth Hostel at Tranmere Street, which has had some experience inexperimenting with both options through the use of four three-bedroomHCV flats since "1977. See:· Youth Accommodation Newsletter, August,1980, p.8.

o" "

AV

'"

5

(e) The "live-in" person may be seen to be "in charge".

(f) The competency of the "live-in" person may discourageother residents from trying.

(g) Other residents may see themselves as less responsiblefor the operation of the house.

Possible models for the development of semi-autonomous house-holds that could be looked at include:

(1) "House of the Gentle Bunyip", Clifton Hill.

(2) "Tranmere Street", (Salvation Army Youth Hostel), NorthFitzroy. "

4. A NETWORK OF MIDDLE- TO LONG-TERM HOUSING IN THE PRIVATEMARKET AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC SECTOR

This option would require the housing worker to:

(a) Help young people who prefer to exercise such an option findsuitable accommodation.

(b) Establish links with real estate agents and help the youngpeople negotiate bond and leasing arrangements.

(c) Facilitate the development of links between the young per-son(s) and relevant community resources, (for example, theLegal Service, Tenants Advice Service, Cred~t Union, CYSSGroups, CES).

(d) Keep an inventory of vacancies in cheap and suitable house-holds, flats and boarding accommodation, including publichousing, in the local area. Such an inventory would include,in particular, vacancies in households previously establishedand supported by the project.

(e) Liaise with, and refer young people to, other housing groupsproviding such accommodat~on and information, where appro-priate.

(f) Provide help to the young person(s) with establishment costs,(for example, finance from the assistance fund, householdgoods and furniture from Material Aid) •

(g) Provide some support and back-up, if needed.

6

The type of housing 4 (both in the public and private sectors)that could be utilized to meet a range of young people's long-term housing needs includes: '

(i) GROUP HOUSING

DescriptionThe concept of group housing is one which involvesshared or communal living. All tenants share res-ponsibility for the operation and mainteriance ofthe house. Practically, this involves sharing liv-ing costs, household duties, such as cooking, clean-ing, shopping, etc., and developing responsibilityin terms of support for one another. Communicationand inter-relating are necessary in a group house,so the nUmber of tenants is a serious consideration.If the group is too,large, effective communicationmay be difficult. Three to six tenants would seemto be a good number to be involved.

Premises RequiredA three-bedroom-plus house, with a lounge, kitchenand bathroom. It would be preferable for the loungeand kitchen areas to be of good size as these wouldbe communal areas. Bedrooms would need to allow forsome privacy amongst tenants.

The advantages of this particular option include:

(a) Communal living is cheaper and cost-erfective.

(b) It is a totally independent form of living, withyoung people still having the opportunity to offer,and receive, support from each other.

(c) It is an environment which encourages skill sharing.

(d) Communal living is often a stimulating learning en-vironment for young people.

(e) Group housing provides the opportunity to utilizegardens, have more space and keep pets.

(f) There is less likelihood of complaints due to noisefrom neighbours.

4. These options have been developed by a sub-committee of the Youth Accom-modation Coaliation's Working Party, on long-term housing for youngpeople, December, 1980.

"

7

The possible limitations on this particular option include:

(a) Lack of privacy for tenants.

(b) It requires some commitment in terms of time and energy.

(c) Conflicts may occur regarding individual responsibilities.

(ii) SHARING A FLAT

DescriptionFlat accommodation is usually utilized by two or threetenants who have their own bedrooms and shared livingareas. All tenants sign the lease, and are togetherresponsible for living costs, such as rent, bills,food and other household items. The tenants usuallyshare meals and responsibility for household mainten-ance, e.g. shopping, cleaning.

Premises RequiredA two- to three-bedroom flat, walk-up or high-rise ..

The advantages of this particular option include:

(a) It is cheaper and cost-effective compared to an indi-vidual living alone in a flat.

(b) It is a totally independent form of living, with youngpeople still having the opportunit~ to offer and re-ceive support from each other, etc.

(c) Flats are often easier to clean and maintain than ahouse.

The possible limi tations on this particular option include:

(a) The limitations on space for tenants.

(b) The problems of noise levels which often cause fric-tion in apartment blocks.

(c) The extent to which landlords discriminate againstyoung people in the private sector, and the extent towhich the HCV is prepared to make flats available underits singles and sharing scheme in the public sector.

(iii) AN APARTMENT HOUSE

DescriptionTenancy consists of a private, furnished room in a largebuilding where cooking' and bathroom facilities are pro-vided. A set amount of money is paid for the room, andthe shared facilities are available for individual use,

8

(iii) AN APARTMENT HOUSE

Description (cont'd.)

i.e. individuals cater for themselves. An ideal numberof tenants would be four to six, with a large loungeavailable for communal use.

Premises. RequiredSuitable premises would be a large house which just _needed slight modifications, e.g. a two-storey terracewith cooking and bathroom facilities on both floors.

Possible advantages of this particular o)?tion include:·

(a) Privacy.

(b) Furniture and utensils are provided.

(c) It may make it easier for young people to budget, as-a flatrate is paid for the room and the use of the facilities.

Possible limitations on.this particular option include:

(a) The potential isolation .of a young person amongst othersleading their own lives.

(b) The problem of responsibility for shared- areas and sharedhousehold goods.

(c) The availability of suitable apartment houses for youngpeople in the private sector.

(d) The extent to which the HCV is prepared to make av~ilableapartment houses as a viable housing option for youngpeople in the public sector.

(iv) A BOARDING HOUSE

DescriptionTenancy consits of a private room in large furnishedpremises where- the manager provides at least one meal(the evening meal), and may provide other services,such as linen, other meals, some cleaning. Facili-ties, such as the bathroom and washing areas areshared. The number of tenants is usually six plusand individuals pay a flat rate for the room andboard.

Possible advantages of this particular option include:

(a) There is no need to cook, as main meals are provided.

(b) Not as much time or responsibility is needed for the main-tenance of the house.

(c)

9

It is easier for young people to budget as bills, etc., areincluded in the flat rate.

Possible limitations of this-particular option include:

(a) The manager may impose restrictions, such as mea~ times,use of room, friends, parties, etc.

(b) Lack of privacy.

(v) BEDSITTERS

DescriptionThe premises required for this form of accommodationinclude single flats and one-bedroom, walk-up flats.

Possible advantages of this particular option include:

It is a totally independent form of living for young people.

Bedsitting accommodation is cheaper than complete one-bedroomflats.

Possible limitations on this particular option include:

(a) They are often small and have a closed-in feeling.

(b) Some young people may feel isolated in such accommodation.

CONCLUSION

It is envisaged that all the young people who are involved in theproject will eventually be able to exercise this last option andlive independently in the community. Some will be quite cableof doing this as soon as they leave "The Boarding House", othersmay require more longer-term support and· the space to test them-selves out in a semi-autonomous household. Still others may notgo into "The Boarding House" at all, but be placed in the "middle"option or board before moving .onto permanent, independent accom-modation. The point is that these longer-term housing optionsfor disadvantaged young people are not mutually exclusive, norshould they be regarded-as rigid categories, with a particular"type" of young person being "suitable" for a particular "option".All that has been attempted here is to explore as many options aspossible that could meet the needs of these young people ..."after the boarding house".

* * * * * * * *

~V