Tackling the transition to independence is a complex and challenging process for most young people. For those leaving local authority care this process can be even more problematic. Research from Northumbria University has found that people from care are over-represented in the North East’s homeless population. This has resulted in a new system at Newcastle City Council to identify and support the young people most at risk of homelessness.
Dr Harding and his colleagues, Dr Mary Laing and Adele Irving, have been involved in a series of research projects funded by Newcastle City Council and Changing Lives, a regional charity working with homeless and other socially excluded people. Their work has helped to shape the delivery of homeless services in Newcastle.
In response to recommendations from the EUROCITIES Peer Review of homelessness services - for which Dr Harding was an advisor- the City Council decided in October 2012 to incorporate a more substantial housing needs’ assessment into the Pathways Plan. This is the transition plan drawn up by social workers and young people around the time of their sixteenth birthday. The new assessment uses a red, amber, green system (RAG) to assess the likelihood of a successful transition to independent living.
When someone is identified as at risk, or red, the Council now has two members of staff dedicated to supporting these high-risk young people to prevent them ending up on the streets. So far this system has identified 30 young people as high risk and they are being supported to help them to successfully make the transition to independence.
“Dr Harding has been central to improving the effectiveness of services for vulnerable people,” says Neil Munslow, service manager for Active Inclusion at Newcastle City Council. “We have worked closely on a number of projects that relate to homelessness and the development of preventative approaches, providing better outcomes for vulnerable people and increased value for the public purse. The common denominator in this work is looking at how partnerships can develop joint pathways and thereby intervene earlier to prevent crisis.”
For more details on this research please read our Partnerships Case Study 'Newcastle City Council Youth Offending Team: Evidenced Based Practice'
Case studies
- Data mining technique developed at Northumbria helps call centre improve efficiency
- Record-keeping strategies for the digital age
- Northumbria University researchers help people with Parkinson’s to walk
- Making it work: involving older people in their own care
- Conserving modern art
- Northumbria researchers help large corporates improve their products
- Digitising the construction industry
- Virtual city provides an interactive platform for architects, planners, heritage and the arts
- Institutional capacity building for cultural built heritage in south east Europe
- Innovation method creates commercial value for business
- 20th Century Design from Shipley to New York
- Creating immersive audio-visual experiences
- KTP improves efficiency and reduces waste at iNPIPE Products
- Books and pop music: challenging conventions that define high and low culture
- Before Depression - a literary perspective on mental health
- Re-assessing own language use in English language teaching
- Improving survival and wellbeing in times of disaster
- Social justice for migrant workers
- Understanding the Scottish Diaspora
- Critical thinking in the digital era
- Northumbria University researcher inspires physics students
- Northumbria researchers advise government on breakfast clubs
- Paving the way for peer-to-peer health advice
- Brief chat with GP helps heavy drinkers cut down
- North East maintains its ‘voice’ in Central Government
- Reducing homelessness among young adults
- Athletes benefit from the therapeutic qualities of cherry juice
- Recognising the needs and interests of women and children in disasters
- Student Law Office Benefits Students and the Community
- Bringing 18th century literature to a modern audience
- Northumbria researchers help tool manufacturer cut costs and increase product lifetime
- Supporting the Solar Energy Market
- Northumbria researchers help give Gibraltar its first official address register
- A warm welcome for female comic book fans
- A KTP with North Tyneside Council transforms sheltered housing
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Upcoming events
Broken Bonds: New Perspectives on Marital Breakdown
The Great Hall
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Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence and Abuse Conference 2026
CCE1 - City Campus East 1
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