Glasgow Housing First for Youth: 1 Year On

In partnership with Glasgow City Council, we’ve now provided 35 care-experienced young people requiring high levels of support with the help of dedicated project workers.

Scottish Government statistics suggest that at least 21% of care leavers become homeless within five years of leaving care. This is why models like Housing First for Youth (HF4Y) are so important, as it acknowledges that young people have specific needs, and its success relies on effective partnerships, like ours with Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

The Housing First for Youth team provides holistic support to each young person, focusing on their individual needs, including housing, health and wellbeing, finances, relationships, education, employment, and training.

“Since coming into HF4Y at Rock Trust, this is the first service where I have been given opportunities in my life and spoken to like an adult. When I am in meetings with my key worker, I feel like my poor mental health just disappears. I love Rock Trust.” Young Person

The feedback collected from young people demonstrates the range of positive outcomes they have experienced since being involved with Rock Trust. This includes 19 of them having improved engagement in meaningful activities, whether in education, training, or employment; nine young people having secured permanent housing; and 12 having reported improved wellbeing.

After the success of the project during its first year, we’re ready to expand our services in Scotland’s largest city to meet demand. We want to offer more young people our youth-specific, specialist support, and with that in mind, the Rock Trust team in Glasgow have recently moved into a new home within the Pierce Institute in Govan.

What’s next for the programme

The biggest challenge during the first year of the project has been accessing accommodation. There are huge pressures on housing stock across the country, and this is compounded in Glasgow due to the number of different housing providers. Where the housing aspect of Housing First for Youth has worked best has been in areas where the local authority has housing stock and can prioritise young people. To address this, Rock Trust and Glasgow City Council have worked together to build a collaborative relationship with Wheatley Homes. Wheatley are the biggest provider of housing in Glasgow and critically have a useful understanding of the Housing First for Youth model.

If you’re a housing provider and would like to get involved and support our work in Glasgow, please get in contact at [email protected]

“It was good to chat to Rock Trust staff and Board about the work they are doing to support young people in Glasgow avoid homelessness through early intervention and by providing wraparound support.” Allan Casey, SNP Councillor for Govan