This is ma wee gaff now, d’ye like it? I love it. I didn’t always love it. Felt pure lonely.

How many times have you moved in your life? Did any of these go better than others? What made the difference?

Moves can be one of the most stressful things a person can go through, but they can also open new opportunities. It is important to be aware that young people who have grown up in care usually will have experienced more of disruptions than most people.They will have experienced changes in school, changes in the distance between them and friends and family as well as changes in their routine. The right kind of support can make a huge difference to a successful move.

Supporting someone into their first home is about enabling a young person to build a stable base, which will affect all other areas of their life. In addition, Scotland, along with many other European countries, is facing significant challenges with its housing situation. For young people with care experience, navigating the precarious housing landscape might feel particularly daunting. Having an advocate who can help with accessing a place to stay is an important first step. Once a place to live has been identified, supportive relationships come into their own.

There is a difference between following a process and delivering relational support. Following a process is focused on the practical, for example: making sure they have a bed, fixing the appliances. Being relational means that on top of that you also make sure that the first night, they have a warm cup of tea, feel safe and are as settled as they can be in a new place. It means listening to young people and making sure you acknowledge how stressful this experience can be. Of course, moving  is not just moving in, but also settling in and continuing to live in a place. Being relational means that a young person is supported in orienting themselves in  the new area and home. Finding the bus routes to the places they most visit, finding the nearest shop, figuring out where to hang any pictures they might have or plan to get.  All these questions might seem small in isolation, but all together can be overwhelming. Being relational means that you are adapting your practice to fit the needs of the young person.

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Don’t find a house, find a home

If you are in the position of supporting a young person with their housing, directly or indirectly it is most important to centre the support on them.

New legislation - the Children (Care, Care Experience andServices Planning) (Scotland) Bill has implications for formally extending aftercare and support with housing.

Further legislation is in progress in the form of the Housing (Scotland) Bill which includes protection for tenants and prevention of homelessness. Shelter Scotland provides advice on these matters and up to date information is available here.

Speak and listen to young people to understand what their needs are and how you can support them.You might want to check out the guide on physical spaces which speaks about the assumptions that a physical space can communicate. Sometimes, workers can detach the house from the emotions, they can think about it merely as a roof over a young person’s head. Sometimes patience and empathy are necessary over time until the young person truly feels at home.