For over 30 years, we’ve been challenging traditional responses to homelessness by creating services that are designed specifically for young people, with young people.

We began by offering shared and single-occupancy homes with wraparound care – an alternative to adult-focused support services that too often leave young people behind. Since then, we’ve continued to lead the way in piloting and scaling up new approaches to prevention, housing and support. Our work remains firmly anchored by the experiences of young people, the creativity of our teams, and our impact and learning.

Our work is distinct. We operate in the housing and homelessness sector, but we bring a youth work approach, one that recognises potential and builds better futures.

Today, we partner with local authorities, service providers and our national coalition, to identify and fill gaps, dismantle barriers, and drive lasting change.

What will it take to end youth homelessness?

It starts with prevention, identifying and tackling the root causes before young people reach crisis point. It means changing systems and policies so that young people have access to safe, affordable housing that meets their specific needs. And it means making sure every young person has the chance to build their skills, support networks and confidence, so they can move forward and thrive.

To get there, we:

• Deliver and share what works, so others can replicate success.
• Collaborate across sectors to create collective, lasting impact.
• Use evidence and insight to influence public understanding and policy decisions.

“Youth homelessness is not inevitable. With bold thinking, cross-sector collaboration and targeted support, we can end it, for good” Kate Polson, CEO

How we are leading change

We don’t just deliver services, we design and test innovative models, influence national policy, and lead partnerships that challenge the systems holding young people back.

We have brought pioneering programmes to Scotland, based on evidence of their success in other countries, including the Housing first for Youth model, Nightstop community hosting, and our schools-based prevention programme Upstream.

We have shared our learnings through conferences and webinars for audiences across Scotland and Europe and have trained others to implement and deliver. Through our participation on government working groups and cross-sector collaboration, we’ve influenced the commissioning of services and have been part of UK-wide campaigns that have pushed through systemic change.

Our work continues to be creative, collaborative and rooted in young people’s experiences. We ensure consultation and learning continually shape our services, and commission external evaluations of our work wherever possible.