Rock Trust’s pioneering Upstream programme is 1 of 15 pilot projects, aimed at finding new ways of preventing people from becoming homeless in Scotland, that are to receive funding from Scottish Government.
The Homelessness Prevention Pilot Fund
The £4 million ‘ask and act’ fund, delivered by Advice Direct Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, supports public bodies and the third sector to test and scale new approaches to early intervention.
Under the proposed ‘ask and act’ duties in the new Housing (Scotland) Bill, public bodies will be required to ask about a person’s housing situation early and take meaningful action to prevent homelessness. Rock Trust will be using their share of the funding to create ‘Upstream Implementation Guidance’ designed to help Local Authorities and schools across Scotland to embed youth homelessness prevention principles.
Why is prevention important?
Relationship breakdown in the home is the single biggest cause of homelessness, and young people remain disproportionately affected. Year on year, statistics show us that young people account for a quarter of all homeless applications, despite accounting for only 13% of the Scottish population. The data tells us that we must look to families and communities, and crucially – schools.
“Evidence shows schools are uniquely placed to identify early risk, but often lack the guidance, structure, and confidence to respond effectively. The ‘ask and act’ duties will help close this gap, helping us embed homelessness prevention within our education system.” Kate Polson, CEO
What’s next for Upstream Scotland?
Rock Trust launched Upstream Scotland, our schools-based prevention programme, in November 2023. We started in six schools across three different Local Authorities; Edinburgh, Perth & Kinross, West Lothian, with Fife joining in January 2025.
The Upstream model is prevention and early intervention in action. It involves surveying whole year groups in schools to identify young people at risk of both family and individual homelessness, before working with the schools to offer support to those pupils who need it. Independent evaluation of our programme by Heriot-Watt and Cardiff Universities (due April 2027) already highlights the potential of the programme for national impact.
Using knowledge and experience we’ve already gained, and working with our current Local Authority partners, we will assess the readiness, resource requirements and cost implications of implementing Upstream in all schools across Scotland. We will develop a national implementation toolkit and guide which can be used by all Local Authorities, providing everything needed for schools to play their part preventing youth homelessness.
This is about changing systems. It’s about co-designing and testing practical frameworks, pathways, and resources that Local Authorities can adopt and scale. Education departments will be able to identify early signs of housing instability for young people and families and act quickly to provide support.
“We are determined to end homelessness – and the best way to do this is to prevent homelessness in the first place. This investment in prevention pilots will help us test and scale up innovative approaches to help people stay in their homes.” Màiri McAllan, The Housing Secretary, Scottish Government.
Ask and Act Homelessness Prevention
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