Family breakdown - whether in the form of divorce, domestic abuse, bereavement or conflict between children and parents - can all contribute to someone finding themselves on the streets.

A high proportion of people who develop mental health or substance misuse problems have suffered trauma in earlier life, often within the family home. 

Experiencing bereavement, divorce or separation can also increase someone’s vulnerability to homelessness by triggering financial difficulties, mental health problems or substance misuse, or leading to someone losing their home.

Family breakdown can happen to anyone at any age. Many of the young people we work with have been asked to leave home by their parents, often because of an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship. Nearly half of homeless young people become homeless for this reason.

Our young people's services work to provide a safe and secure environment - a sense of 'home' - for young people, to bring stability to our clients’ lives.

We also work preventatively with families who may be experiencing problems such as truancy, offending or domestic violence, to help keep families together and stop problems from escalating further.

Across all our services, our Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) framework helps ensure that all of our staff take account of the effects of past adversity and trauma on our clients' psychological and emotional needs.

My mum didn’t let me live in the house, so that’s when I became homeless. 

After Stacie’s grandmother passed away, her mum kicked her out and she ended up homeless. After living in our supported housing and regaining her confidence, Stacie got a job working in the homeless sector and draws upon her experiences to help others.

 

Read Stacie’s story