Upstream Worcestershire

Upstream Worcestershire: preventing youth homelessness before it happens

Wyre Forest and South Worcestershire Nightstop and Mediation Service and The Basement Project are working in partnership to pilot Upstream in schools across Worcestershire.

Nightstop is initially delivering the programme at Stourport High School and Baxter College, while The Basement Project is working with North Bromsgrove and South Bromsgrove High Schools. Together, we are sharing our progress and learning as the programme develops.

Upstream is a school-based early intervention programme designed to identify and support young people aged 11–16 who may be at risk of homelessness later in life.

Many of the young people identified through Upstream are not already known to support services and may be under the radar of their school’s pastoral or safeguarding teams.

How does Upstream work?

Students complete a 47-question survey exploring four key areas:

Your School & College
Home Life
Wellbeing
Resilience

The survey helps schools identify early signs that a young person may be struggling. Those identified as being at risk can then receive support tailored to their individual circumstances, including family mediation and one-to-one support.

By intervening early, Upstream aims to prevent difficulties from escalating, strengthen family relationships and reduce the risk of a young person becoming homeless after the age of 16.

Where did Upstream begin?

The Upstream model was developed in Geelong, Australia, where early intervention contributed to a 40% reduction in youth homelessness. It was later introduced in Wales by homelessness charity Llamau through Upstream Cymru, where similarly positive results were recorded.

The model has since been piloted in secondary schools in England. Analysis of the pilot surveys found that more than one in ten young people were either at risk of or already experiencing youth homelessness, closely reflecting the findings from Wales.

Crucially, nearly three-quarters of the pupils identified as being at high risk were considered engaged in school or showed only low levels of disengagement. This demonstrates how the survey can identify young people whose circumstances might otherwise remain hidden.

Young people experiencing any level of homelessness risk also reported lower levels of resilience and wellbeing.

Family breakdown is the number one cause of youth homelessness, yet too often young people only come to the attention of homelessness services when relationships have already broken down, and they have nowhere safe to stay. “Upstream gives us an opportunity to reach young people and their families much earlier. By identifying difficulties and offering the right support at the right time, we hope to strengthen family relationships, improve young people’s wellbeing and help them remain safely housed and engaged in education.

Judith Ford, CEO

What has the research found?

Survey findings from the Upstream pilots showed:

Between 10% and 15% of pupils were at risk of youth homelessness
Nearly 15% were at risk of family homelessness
Around 22% were at risk of one or both forms of homelessness
Between 80% and 90% reported challenges with their mental health
More than 50% reported low levels of resilience
Just over 10% were at risk of disengaging from school
Around 20% had experienced bullying

These findings were consistent with those recorded by Upstream Cymru, despite the programmes being delivered in very different communities

A first-year evaluation by Cardiff University and Heriot-Watt University also found promising evidence that Upstream had a positive influence on the young people who received support. Improvements were recorded in wellbeing, confidence, communication with family members and school attendance.