New report acknowledges St Christopher's innovation

10 December 2008

A new report by the YMCA and the CLG has cited the approaches adopted by St Christopher's Homelessness Intervention Project (HIP) as being effective in reducing youth homelessness.

St Christopher's HIP was selected as a case study for this major piece of research. The report, ‘Breaking it Down: Developing Whole-Family approaches to Youth Homelessness’, considers parent’s experiences of successful youth homelessness services to identify ways in which existing services can be developed and improved. The report highlights the importance of holistic approaches to preventing homelessness. Such approaches consider the central role families can play in supporting young people to stay at home or sustaining independent living.

St Christopher's Homelessness Intervention Project was selected because the service has had great success in both encouraging young people to remain at home and rebuilding relationships between parents and young people. In particular, St Christopher's HIP looks at the root causes of conflict, such as overcrowding, unsuitable housing and benefit problems.

The full report can be downloaded and read here.