A day in the life of a youth hub support worker? It’s safe to say no two days are the same. 

It’s fast paced, 

unpredictable, 

and ever changing. 

The youth hub is based within Dudley’s homelessness team, and supports young people aged 18-25 if they find themselves facing homelessness. There are a number of different reasons young people face homelessness – relationship breakdown, overcrowding, loss of earnings, rent arrears, leaving hospital or NASS accommodation, loss of a loved one and so much more. Our youth hub staff offer a person-centred approach to support anyone that presents themselves as homeless, and works hard to find them suitable accommodation. 

Since January, CHADD have supported 92 young people through the Youth Hub, and so far, 70 of those cases have been appropriately housed. The other 20 are still open cases, and we are working with them to find suitable accommodation. 

The referrals are unpredictable, with one day seeing several come in at once, and another seeing just one referral all day. 

|| We have to be ready for whatever happens that day, which certainly keeps us on our toes. ||

We typically work with each young person for 4-6 weeks, both pre and post placement. Some referrals can be straightforward, however others may present challenges. These can include finding available accommodation locally or specific accommodation to meet needs such as mobility or mental health. Another regular challenge is young people that have pets – many supported housing and private landlords won’t accept pets (certainly not straight away) but young people do not want to be separated from their beloved pet. We will always do our best to find the most suitable accommodation, and it’s a rewarding moment for us when we do. To see a young person feeling happy with their accommodation, and able to settle down in a safe place, is a brilliant feeling. 

There are some instances where we can act as mediators between family members when there has been a relationship breakdown, and find a solution that enables a young person to go home, which is always a wonderful outcome. This is an aspect of the service we would like to develop further. 

||  The sad reality is the number of young people facing homelessness is growing, and with the ever-changing financial climate, housing crisis and the increase in mental health struggles, the job of finding them somewhere safe to live is a challenge.  ||

However, our team is working extremely hard every day to ensure that every young person is offered a place to call home, where they feel safe and can thrive. We work in partnership with other local agencies, including Black Country Food Bank, and our alliance partners, and this allows us to successfully offer these young people the help and support that they need. 

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The Youth Hub sits as part of Dudley’s Homelessness Service and is provided by the Dudley Young People’s Alliance partnership led by CHADD and also includes YMCA Black Country, Just Straight talk, Top Church Training, Greensquare Accord.  As a partnership we provide supported housing, emergency bed provision and wrap-around support for young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness in Dudley.  The Youth Hub is a key part of that in providing a drop-in space and direct referral system for any young person presenting as homeless in any way.