youth homelessness strategy in ireland: preventive measures

Ireland’s Youth Homelessness Strategy,

2001:

Assessing its Impact on the Scale and Nature

of the Youth Homelessness Problem

Paula Mayock, PhD

School of Social Work and Social Policy &

Children’s Research Centre, Trinity College Dublin

[email protected]

Investing in young people to prevent a lost generation in Europe:

key policy and practice in addressing youth homelessness

8th November 2013, Prague, Czech Republic

mailto:[email protected]

Background to the Introduction of

Ireland’s Youth Homelessness Strategy

It was only from the mid-1960s that youth homelessness was

gradually articulated as a form of homelessness different from

that experienced by adults.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, within official discourse,

youth hoemlessness remained a relatively marginal issue.

1980s: The first clear articulation of a youth homelessness

problem. Explicit recognition of a problem requiring specific

attention.came from Government in 1985:

The Government accept that it is the responsibiltiy of the Health

Boards to provide long-term and short-stay accommodation for

homeless young people incapable of independent living and in

need of special care (Government of Ireland, 1985:34-5).




Background to the Introduction of

Ireland’s Youth Homelessness Strategy

1990s --- Emergence of strong evidence of the absence of

suitable accommodation for homeless children and young

people (Carlson 1990; Daly 1990; O’Connell, 1990, 1992).

1990s --- The legal construction of youth homelessness:

Child Care Act, 1991: Specifc statutory provision for homeless

children in Ireland was legislated for.

‘Child’ defined as someone up to the age of 18 years.

Under Section 5 of the Act, a clear obligation was placed on the

Health Boards to provide accommodation for homeless children.

1992 --- Crisis Intervention (Out of Hours) Service for homeless

children and young people introduced.

High Court Cases --- Exploring the operationalisation of Sec. 5.

October 2001 --- a national Youth Homelessness Strategy

(Department of Health and Children, 2001) was published.




The Strategy’s Goal

“To reduce and if possible eliminate youth

homelessness through preventative strategies and

where a child becomes homeless to ensure that

he/she benefits from a comprehensive range of

services aimed at re-integrating him/her into his/her

community as quickly as possible”

(Department of Health and Children, 2001: 9).




The Strategy’s Specific Aims

The strategy set out 12 specific objectives under the following

headings:

Preventive Measures – the prevention of youth homelessness.

Responsive Services – the need for prompt, responsive, child-

focused services.

Planning/Administrative Supports – the importance of inter-agency

work in tackling the problem.

Particular emphasis placed on PREVENTION.

The importance of tackling the problem of children at risk for

homelessness in local areas through locally based services also

emphasised.

Link between leaving care and risk for homelessness

recognised.




Homelessness Preventive Strategy, 2002

The Homelessness Preventive Strategy was published in 2002

(Department of Environment and Local Government, 2002).

This document made specific reference to a number of target or

‘at risk’ groups, including: Adult and young offenders; People

leaving mental health facilities; People leaving acute hospitals;

Young people leaving care.

By early 2000s, the ambition of government policy in relation to

homelessness was “to ensure that responses to it are integrated

with other policy and legislative agendas” (Homeless Agency,

2004).

Fitzpatrick Associated (2006) --- review of the implementation of

Preventive and Integrated Homeless Strategies --- large number

of objective substantially met.




Review of the Implementation of the Youth

Homelessness Strategy (YHS) (Denyer et al., 2013)

YHS found to have made significant contribution to addressing

problem of youth homelessness.

YHS found to have facilitated considerable improvements in

accommodation options and supports for children experiencing,

or at risk for, homelessness.

Significant investment and improvements in family support, child

protection and welfare services and foster care, and youth

services have made a positive impact.

Children who present to services as homeless or at risk for

homelessness are now generally accessed and provided with

services on the same basis as children who present with

protection and welfare concerns.




Review of the Implementation of the Youth

Homelessness Strategy (YHS) (Denyer et al., 2013)

Review hampered by the breath of the definition of youth

homelessness and inadequate information systems for

monitoring youth homelessness.

Need for improvements in interagency work.

Access to mental health and intellectual disability services for

children in crisis or out-of-home remains problematic in some

areas.

Improvements needed to support children in emergency

settings to continue engagement with education.

Young people aged between 18 and 25 years were identified as

needing additional support.




The Extent of the Problem: Reviewing the

Evidence

Homelessness among Children and Young People

Under 18 years:

Referrals to Crisis Intervention Service:

Hit a peak in the 1990s (over 4,500 referrals in 2000). Number of

referrals had declined to 2,390 in 2006. In 2006, the number of

unique referrals stood at 263.

2011: 179 referrals to the service.

Jan-Sept 2012: 124 children aged 12-17 years referred to the

service.

Rough Sleeper Counts:

Counts conducted in 2011 and 2012 indicate that no child or

young person under the age of 18 years was recorded as

sleeping rough.





Evidence

Homelessness among Young People aged 18-29 Years

Central Statistics Office (2012): Young people aged 15-24

represented approximately13.7% (n=523); those aged 25-29 years

a further 9.5% (n=363).

Housing Needs Assessment Revised Report for Dublin (2012):

367 young people aged 18-25 years identified as homeless in

2011. Young people aged 26-30 make up a further 17%. The two

age groups account for over one-third (26%) of all homeless

adults surveyed.

Rough Sleeper Counts: Most recent count conducted indicates

that 29 young people (aged 18-30) identified as sleeping rough in

Dublin in November 2012, representing approximately one-third

of the total rough sleeper population.





Evidence

Children and Young People under 18 years:

The numbers accessing the Crisis Intervention Services has

declined significantly over the past decade.

Street homelessness among children has declined very

significantly and is currently rare.

Young People aged 18-25 years:

Level of homelessness among those aged 18-25 years appears

to have fluctuated over time. However, the overall trend points

to stability rather than to a downward pattern in the numbers in

this age group presenting as homeless in recent years.

Best estimate would suggest that between 15% and 20% of the

total homeless adult population are in this age range.




The Problem of Definition

The YHS defined youth homelessness as follows:

“Those who are sleeping on the streets or in other places not

intended for night-time accommodation or not providing safe

protection from the elements or those whose usual night-time

residence is a public or private shelter, emergency lodging,

B&B or such, providing protection from the elements but

lacking other characteristics of home and/or intended only for a

short stay” (Dept of Health and Children, 2001).

** YHS did not provide a clear definition of ‘youth’.

** In practice, a large number of the objectives set out in the

Strategy are concerned with preventing an responding to

homelessness among children under the age of 18 years.




The Problem of Definition

The definition outlined in YHS contrasts with the situation in the

UK, where most commentators on ‘youth homelessness’ focus on

housing need as affecting those aged between 16 and 24 years

(Quilgars et al., 2011).

The bureaucratic distinction that exists in Ireland between young

people under and over the age of 18 years is not consistent with

the notion of extended youth to adulthood transitions.

The current organisation of homeless services in Ireland – which

necessitates an abrupt transfer from child welfare to adult

services at the age of 18 – has been argued to perpetuate housing

instability among the young and to reduce the likelihood of a

speedy exit from homelessness (Mayock et al., 2008; 2013).




Recent Research on Youth

Homelessness in Ireland

Six-year qualitative longitudinal study of homeless young

people in Dublin: Conducted between 2004 and 2010/11

(Mayock & Vekic, 2006; Mayock & O’Sullivan, 2007;

Mayock et al., 2008; Mayock & Corr, 2013).

Study of ‘out of home’ young people in Cork city (Mayock

& Carr, 2008).

Study of homeless young people and their families:

Initiated April 2013 and currently ongoing (Mayock &

Parker, forthcoming, 2014).




The Research Evidence: Key Issues

Paths to Homelessness: Young people with a history of State care

area ‘high risk’ group for homelessness and housing instability.

The Importance of Early Exits from Homelessness: Those young

people who ‘got out’ of homelessness early were likely to ‘stay out’,

signaling the need for timely, planned access to stable housing.

From Youth to Adult Homelessness: The transfer from children

(under 18) to adult homeless services presents a major risk.

Currently, a young person may lose most, if not all, of their prior

supports on reaching the age of 18 years.

More fluid systems of intervention required to meet the needs of young people

aged 17-25 years who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.




The Research Evidence: Key Issues

Housing and Support Options for Young People: Transitional or

supported housing may be an appropriate option for young people in the

16-21 age range who have complex needs. Affordable housing options for

young people on benefits currently extremely limited.

Supporting the Transition to Independent Living: The provision of

appropriate support services following the transition to independent living

is essential if returns to homelessness are to be avoided.

Sustaining Housing: Specialist support services, particularly mental

health and drug/alcohol services, required to ensure that young people

have a realistic prospect of sustaining housing.

Gender and Homelessness: In place of stable housing, young men are

at risk of embarking on an ‘institutional circuit’ of commuting between

hostels and prison.




Conclusion

The available evidence suggests that the YHS has contributed to

reduction of the number of children who become homeless. Many

of the more recent measures have also prevented children from

entering the ‘official’ network of homeless youth.

The YHS targeted children under the age of 18 years, not those

young people in the 18-25 year age range.

The available figures indicate that homelessness among those

aged 18-25 years has not significantly altered.

The transfer of young people into the adult system of

interventions presents a significant risk.

Specific measures are required to address the problems of

homelessness and housing instability among young people up to

the age of 25 years.




youth homelessness strategy in ireland: preventive measures

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