What is living? We always start with this question and the answer is always the same "to have a house, a job and some food". From H4Y FUTURO our goal is to cover these needs for the autonomous development of our clientele. The program includes ages from 18 to 25 years old, ages in which we must learn how life is and we, as technicians, guide and support them in a third plane because they are the protagonists.
Housing First for Youth, an effective response to youth homelessness
The H4Y FUTURO program, under the Housing First for Youth (HF4Y) methodology, is part of the social innovation projects financed by the Next Generation European funds through the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030 and the Recovery Plan. This project aims to generate a radical paradigm shift in the approach to youth homelessness in Spain. This methodology identifies the need to create a specific program for young people due to the lack of an effective response from the traditional care system. What has been done so far in addressing youth homelessness has been to take models designed for adults by changing the age requirement and thus creating services for young people.
It was in Canada where the Housing First model began to be applied to young people when one of the first results of its evaluation was that, although young people had a high rate of housing retention, the results at the psychosocial level were not particularly positive. That is, it was shown that the young people were not carrying out recovery processes, were not joining educational and/or training processes, or were living in constant fear of becoming homeless again, still submerged in processes of social exclusion. In this way, it became evident that Housing First as a model, however successful it may be, is designed for adults and is not adapted to the specific needs of young people. This is how Housing First for Youth was born.
Towards the autonomy of young people
From the intervention and accompaniment point of view, we are very aware that when working with young people it is very important to have an approach centered on the person and the life circumstances in which they find themselves. This means accepting the idea that the causes and consequences of youth homelessness are different from those of adults and, therefore, the solutions and the accompaniment approach must be adapted to the specific needs of their age.
We understand that in working with young people there is a more educational and guiding role than with adults. It is normal that young people do not yet know what they want or where to direct their lives, therefore, we consider it essential to intensify support so that they are able to make well-informed decisions with full autonomy. While most adults already have a greater degree of life experience that they can draw on to make decisions about their lives, HF4Y support is more proactive in outlining the framework of possibilities available to the clientele, explaining clearly, and in understandable terms, what the advantages and disadvantages are, ensuring that young people feel empowered to make their own decisions about their lives accordingly.
Focus on Human Rights
Finally, it should be noted that the H4Y FUTURO team, like the rest of the innovation and Housing First and Housing Led projects that we carry out in Alliance from HOGAR SÍ and Provivienda, our intervention is framed in an approach based on human rights, and therefore, on the right to housing, which means recognizing the fact that youth homelessness is not only the result of individual circumstances but an abandonment of the traditional system of care for homelessness.
Integrating the model from a rights-based perspective helps to recognize that the entire population, including young people, have a fundamental right to access adequate housing and receive the necessary support.
Patricia Tovar, Socio-educational Support Technician at H4Y FUTURO
