Case Study
Leicester City Council Planning and Commissioning Team
Following the Strategic Review of Homeless Services in Leicester, which was completed to determine the level, type and need of services available to homeless people, various recommendations were due to be implemented.
Gill Taylor, the lead officer for the work, set about consulting with staff, customers and stakeholders about the changes and how they would benefit homeless people to find new homes and build new skills to enable their independence. The main change was the introduction of the Homeless Pathway and Single Access and Referral Point. The Pathway is a four-staged approach to homelessness, using differing levels and types of supported accommodation. The aim is to meet the needs of individuals in an environment that suits their level of independence. There are to be three Pathways – Adults, Young People and Families, in recognition of their different needs. The Single Access and Referral Point will be a “one stop shop” for all homeless people in Leicester, through which to access preventative advice and support and practical options to remain independent or to help them access Homeless Pathway accommodation if they need it. The service will be dynamic in meeting the different needs of homeless people and a Specialist Co-ordinator will be in place to work specifically with young people to assist their move-on into independence in an appropriate and timely manner.
Events were held to capture the views of customers and staff, but Gill and the team felt that not enough young people had contributed to the consultation and the more should be done. The team had talked about the work of the national Youth Reference Group and Gill contacted Tamzin Taylor-Rosser to see if the group would be interested in contributing their ideas.
In November 2009, the National Youth Reference Group came to Leicester for the day. Various discussions were had, challenging the ideas held by providers, commissioners and staff about young people and routes into and out of homelessness. The group contributed massively to the development of the Young Person’s Pathway – predominantly regarding the attitudes and values of staff working with young people and assumptions about young peoples attitudes. The session was also fundamental to understanding the way in which words used can stigmatise individuals, the most prominent of which was the use of the word “hostel”. The NYRG contributed ideas about how the Single Access and Referral Point should operate, how the environment could be used as a way to encourage individuals to engage with services and the role of the Young Persons Specialist Coordinator.
From this session, Gill went back to her work with an excitement about the possibilities that the new Homeless Pathway could create for young people. The national Youth Reference Group offered to continue to work with Gill to become part of the procurement process for the new Homeless Pathway – this includes receiving training and support in how to interview potential new service providers and in creating questions that make service providers think in more detail about the needs of young people. They also offered their help in training service providers to develop the way they involve customers in their work, through the “Menu of Involvement” training programme.
The Homeless Pathway and Single Access and Referral Point are due to begin operation in April 2011.
