Young People at Scottish Parliament

Exploring politics and policy

Many of the young people who access our services have experienced the challenges caused by current political systems. Some policies actively disadvantage them, and services aren’t often designed with their needs in mind. These young people are experts in what works, and what doesn’t, when it comes to support in practice.

Rock Trust’s teams across Scotland work alongside passionate and hard-working young people to help them realise their ambitions to become change makers across sectors. In fact, young people we’ve supported have gone on to careers in housing and homelessness, care, health, social work, and legal roles. Some of them have become nurses, lawyers, and everything in between!

Young people are the leaders of the future, and their experiences of being at risk of or experiencing homelessness means they have unique and powerful perspectives into how we can make Scotland an even better place for them to grow up. Our role at Rock Trust is to do all we can to foster and support them to achieve their aspirations.

Young people affected by homelessness visit the Scottish Parliament

Some young people in our Edinburgh Youth Hub expressed an interest to visit the Scottish Parliament and we made it happen! We organised a visit to Holyrood and uncovered what really goes on at the beating heart of Scottish politics.

Rock Trust’s staff and young people started the visit with a guided tour around the Parliament to appreciate its impressive architecture and learnt all about Scottish devolution. We then watched the lively cross-party debates in the chamber for First Minister’s Questions. It was then time to reflect on everything we’d heard so far over a wee lunch break, not to mention the important business of sampling Holyrood’s finest Haggis, Neeps & Tatties!

Rock Trust’s youth hub meets Ben Macpherson MSP

A highlight of the day was the opportunity to have a Q&A session with Rock Trust’s advocate, Ben Macpherson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern & Leith. It was a great chance for young people and staff alike to have a meaningful and honest discussion with one of our local MSPs.

“I was really excited to come and learn more about politics as it’s all new to me, and something I’m learning more about currently in my course at college.” Young person to Ben Macpherson MSP

The conversation included topics such as access to mental health support, house building, welfare systems and the ongoing National housing emergency. It was great to see the young people engage in some lively conversations over the issues that matter most to them.

“I'm new to Scotland and it’s good to learn more. I’m so surprised that everyone can come and visit Parliament so easily, as that’s not the case from where I’m from. Now I see that it’s really welcoming here. And I think it’s really cool that children and young people interested in politics can come and see what’s happening.” Young person who recently moved to Scotland

Reflections of the day

One of our staff members, who provides housing support to young people in our Youth Hub, reflected at the end of the day:

“I came out of it feeling really good about the Scottish Government – they sort of confirmed what I already expected, that we have a really progressive government that prioritises the people above all.” Rock Trust staff

Ben Macpherson MSP, who has been working closely with Rock Trust since he was elected in 2016, said:

“By providing services that educate and support young people at risk of homelessness, Rock Trust make such an important difference – not only protecting vulnerable individuals but also offering opportunities for personal growth and development. I greatly valued the open and honest discussions I had with the young people during their visit, which gave me the opportunity to hear their stories and about their experiences, including their views on the current housing crisis in Edinburgh and, in particular, the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ young people experiencing homelessness, the need for more housing support for disabled people and the requirement for accessible mental health support. The Scottish Parliament was recreated not only to represent the views of all Scots but also to provide opportunities for everyone to engage with both the Parliament and their elected representatives. I hope everyone found the visit and conversations helpful, and I look forward to continuing to work with Rock Trust in the future.” Ben Macpherson MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith

We thank Ben and his team for taking the time to engage with our young people, and his continued support of our work and mission to end youth homelessness in Scotland.

What next?

At Rock Trust we believe in ensuring that our services, support and opinions are shaped by the young people who we support, through meaningful youth engagement. Our visit to Scottish parliament was a great way to introduce young people with a keen interest in policy making to the place and people where decisions at the highest level are made in Scotland.

As part of our ongoing commitment to youth engagement, we also facilitate Aff the Streets, a youth steering group which engages with young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness from across organisations to find out their views. This means that we can ensure that young people are given a platform to share their ideas and opinions with decision makers, putting young people’s experiences and youth homelessness firmly on the agenda. This group have recently fed into our consultation responses, such as Moving on from Care and the Housing (Scotland) Bill and we are always on the lookout for the next opportunity!

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