Over the 12 days of Christmas we used our social media channels to examine the benefits of supported lodgings to young people facing a range of challenging circumstances.  This included young people facing homelessness, Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC), victims of modern slavery or Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), young mums, young dads, those fleeing domestic violence, young people in care, care leavers and refugees. The full content of each posts is listed below:

Day 1

Given that Jesus🤱 spent at least the first few days without a home we thought we’d start our 12 day campaign looking at youth homelessness.

Last year 121,000 young people (16-25) in the UK were homeless or at risk of homelessness 💔

Matt Nelson, coordinator at It Takes a City faced homelessness as a young person and understands the importance of a safe home 🏠 environment.
We believe supported lodgings where hosts open their homes to young people can make a huge difference a young person facing homelessness in our city 💙

Day 2

Not only have Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) often experienced significant childhood trauma they also, by definition, have no family to turn to.

UASC are also more likely to find themselves in unsuitable accommodation whilst they are looked after by local authorities.

We have already had referrals for a number of UASC including the profile below:

🔵 19-year-old young man
🔵 Asylum seeker with status to remain in the UK
🔵 Originally from Ethiopia
🔵 Working
🔵 Homeless; sofa surfing and sleeping rough

Day 3

What do all these celebrities have in common? 🤷‍♂️

The answer?  They were all arrested as teenagers (full details below).

We are very careful about the young people we place in host homes but we do believe that every young person deserves a second chance. In fact, safe & stable accommodation is key to steering young people away from crime.

Michael Phelps: Arrested for drinking and driving under the influence at 19.
Dwayne Johnson: “By the time I was 16, I had been arrested eight or nine times for a variety of things,” Johnson told the U.K. newspaper Metro.
Stephen Fry: At age 17, he was arrested for credit card fraud, after (in his words) ”going ape” with a family friend’s credit card for three months.
Mark Wahlberg: At just 16 years old, Wahlberg served a 45-day jail sentence for partially blinding a man during an attack.
Bill Gates: Arrested for speeding and driving without a license at age 19.
Anthony Joshua: Joshua was charged with possession with intent to supply a class B drug and submitted a guilty plea.

Day 4

Our friends Hope at Home run a fantastic supported lodgings initiative for adult survivors of modern-day slavery who are vulnerable to homelessness 💫

Unfortunately, modern-day slavery & sexual exploitation also affects many young people.

In 2019-20 Cambridgeshire Constabulary reported 214 were cases of sexual exploitation against those under 18.
A safe place to stay in a nurturing environment with adults who care can be a key safeguard to young people who are at risk of exploitation.

Day 5

Thinking back to the nativity story 📖 Mary was a young mum & probably felt similarly judged to many young mums today.

These feelings are compounded by a shortage of mother & baby placements & particularly those in suitable settings and locations.

Judith Cork coordinator of the Young Parent Programme at Romsey Mill explains the difference supported accommodation can make to young mums:  “Parenthood can be a transformative experience for young people but having stable accommodation and a good support network makes a huge difference. Supported accommodation can provide a positive, nurturing environment for young parents as they start their parenting journey.”

Day 6

As well as young mums our supported lodgings placements are available for young dads👨🏻‍🍼

This is especially important as a lot of accommodation options can be unsuitable as they disincentivize work & don’t allow babies on site.  LeeNash Young Father’s Worker Romsey Mill knows these problems all too well:

“One of the biggest issues for some of the dads I work with is around accommodation. Some of them find themselves on the verge of being homeless or sofa surfing. Sometimes their parents disagree with them becoming a parent so young and this can lead to a breakdown in relationship. Sometimes their parents don’t want to have a baby in their house so they ask them to leave and find somewhere else to live before the baby arrives. Some of the dads live in hostels and are on universal credit.  If they look for work to improve their finances, their rent dramatically increases whilst their housing benefit is cut. They find themselves in a position where they can’t afford their rent and it’s more affordable to be back on universal credit. Most of the hostels have rules around babies not being allowed in the building. This makes it difficult for the dad to spend time where they live. If they sign up to something like Home-Link, they are less likely to find a place unless they are the sole Carer of their child, which in a lot of cases they’re not. Some dads have felt pre-judged when looking for private renting. They’ve felt like they’ve been treated with suspicion due to their age, gender, or appearance.”

Day 7

The average length of stay in supported lodgings is 18 months.

However, we also offer short-term, emergency placements for young people who urgently need accommodation before moving to more permanent options 👏

This can happen for a variety of reasons including family breakdown, domestic abuse, eviction etc……….

Not only can the above prevent young people from sleeping rough but it can also lead to surprising findings 😊.  Karl (KD) Lewis is the Music Specialist Youth Development Worker @Romsey Mill & has occasionally offered emergency accommodation to young people. “The most surprising thing with one young person was how much he enjoyed watching Disney films with my daughter! I’d worked with him for a long time but when he stayed at mine I really got to see a different side to him and it was great to see.”

Day 8

This story speaks for itself and shows the role supported lodgings can play for young people fleeing domestic violence.

“I am a survivor of lifelong child abuse and domestic violence at the hands of my parents who inflicted emotional, mental and physical abuse on me from infancy. They made me the family scapegoat, so my siblings were taught to hate and hurt me in the same ways.

My father began throwing me out of the house when I was 14 years old. When I was 16 he first tried to strangle me. By 17 he threw me out and I did not go back. Instead, I found a bedsit on the same street as my boyfriend’s parents. My boyfriend was at university. I spent a year resitting my ‘A’ levels and saw him at weekends.

During that year, his parents treated me like a surrogate daughter. They let me do my laundry in their washing machine and let me eat with and socialise with the rest of their family. They gave me wise advice when I needed it.

At the end of the year, I passed my ‘A’ levels with the grades I needed to study at university. Although my boyfriend and I split up eventually, I will never forget him or the part his family played in supporting me during that very difficult year of my life.

Without them I would not have completed my education.

Concrete Rose’s supported lodgings would have been ideal for me back then. Today the need for such help for young people with dysfunctional family’s like mine is still very relevant. The help that Concrete Rose gives is invaluable.”

Day 9

This case study  is taken from the Home for Good report on supported lodgings #brimmingwith potential.

For young people in care who are without foster placements – or where placements have broken down – supported lodgings 🛏 can provide a similarly nurturing environment with a little more independence.

This report notes that supported lodgings “is not suitable for all young people, but for many it can be life changing”.

Day 10

Leaving care is often referred to as a ‘cliff edge’ and 1 in 10 young people in or leaving care have either no one, or not enough people, to turn to.
Step by Step is a fantastic charity that has around 240 supported lodgings placements across Hampshire and the south 👊

Many of the young people they support are care leavers like Olivia.

This short clip gives an insight into the difference supported lodgings can make to young people as they navigate the difficult transition from care to independence.

Day 11

Not long after the birth of Jesus He and his family were forced to flee Bethlehem to Egypt due to persecution.

This meets the UN High Commission for refugee definition: “A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence.”

➡️ Providing a safe place to stay for refugees is key to helping individual’s rebuild their lives
➡️ Where young refugees are without family supported lodgings can provide the foundation to move forward

The film below shows the unusual story of Dong who, though technically not a refugee, faced similar circumstances when his parents were imprisoned in his homeland. Alone and homeless a supported lodgings scheme run by East Sussex County Council provided the safety and security he desperately needed 💛

Day 12

The 12 days of Christmas represents the period between Jesus being born and the visit of the Magi and, similar to these wise men 👑, we’ve covered a lot of ground!

In particular, we’ve looked at the circumstances facing lots of young people that may make supported lodgings 🏚 a great option to help them move forward with their lives. This includes:

🔵 Young people facing homelessness
🔵 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC)
🔵 Young offenders
🔵 Victims of modern slavery or Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
🔵 Young mums
🔵 Young dads
🔵 Emergency placements
🔵 Those fleeing domestic violence
🔵 Young people in care
🔵 Care leavers
🔵 Refugees

We need a network of hosts across the region to respond to these needs. If you have a spare room and a desire to make a difference why not get in touch to explore being a supported lodgings host?

Together we can bring good news to those who desperately need it 💫