National Youth Homelessness Conference - Speakers

Associate Professor David MacKenzie is founding CEO of Upstream Australia Ltd, a not-for-profit field-building intermediary organization advocating for place-based collective impact system change and a backbone support platform supporting funded and yet to be funded communities COSS Model communities. 

David has undertaken research and development over more than 30 years focused on young people’s issues and social policy, homelessness and social and educational disadvantage. 

With Chris Chamberlain, he formulated the influential Australian cultural definition of homelessness and developed the methodology for estimating homelessness in Australia that has been adopted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. 

In 2007-2008, he was one of the four Commissioners responsible for the National Youth Commission Inquiry into Youth Homelessness [NYC] and influential report Australia’s Homeless Youth. 

He currently holds an adjunct position at the Gonski Institute for Education at the University of New South Wales

Dr Tammy Hand is the Deputy CEO of Upstream Australia Ltd, and a founding member of the Upstream International Living Lab that is focused on the development and international scale-up of ‘upstream’ solutions to youth homelessness, including the COSS Model. 

She is an experienced social researcher whose broad interests are focused on social and educational outcomes for young people, specifically at the intersections of in/equality, structural and non-structural barriers, social and system change and reform. 

Tammy is an adjunct senior research fellow at the Gonski Institute for Education at the University of New South Wales. 

Much of Tammy’s current work is focused on system reform for increased efficiency and effectiveness and she manages the implementation and development of COSS site expansion and led the developmental evaluation (2019-2023) of the funded pilot site in Albury, NSW – the Albury Project. 

Aimee joined Centrepoint as an apprentice in 2022 and completed her course in Business Administration last year. She is currently a Direct Marketing Officer, working in the Face-to-Face fundraising team. 

She has lived experience of youth homelessness and a huge passion for the work Centrepoint does. 

In her spare time, Aimee enjoys volunteering at Centrepoint events, listening to music, and reading sci-fi & fantasy novels.

Balbir has worked in the young people and housing arena for over twenty years. Prior to this she worked as a frontline youth worker and a student counsellor in London.

As a policy advisor at the Department for Education, Balbir advised on how to deliver appropriate support to children and their families.  Preventing young people from going through the trauma of homelessness is a key focus of Balbir’s current role. 

Throughout her work, Balbir has championed the meaningful involvement of young people in the design and delivery of services that are aimed at them.

Robi Walters is an internationally acclaimed, London-based artist that transforms discarded materials into beautiful works of art.

Most recently, Robi was part of a group show Reframing Homelessness at the Saatchi Gallery (August 7 - September 20) in conjunction with Prince William and The Royal Foundation’s Homewards programme and Eleven Eleven Foundation.

His mesmerising, colourful collages have attracted celebrity collectors such as Thandie Newton, Maxim from the Prodigy and Major Lazer’s Diplo and Jillionaire. In 2017 Robi presented a piece to Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt. Music is a powerful influence and he has collaborated with several renowned musicians including U2, Mary J Blige and Sir Paul McCartney in order to raise money for charities.

Robi’s artistic practice echoes his own life; the process of taking discarded objects and making them beautiful and ‘wanted’ again reflects the spirit of transformation with which he has turned his own life around. He has opened his own studio in Charing Cross Rd (the famed building Steve Lazarides represented Banksy, JR, Faile etc back in 2008)  and continues to break past his own boundaries to make his dreams reality.

Pim leads Prince William’s work on homelessness, centred on Homewards, a transformative five-year collaborative programme working to demonstrate it is possible to end homelessness – making it rare, brief, and unrepeated. 

Prior to joining The Royal Foundation, Pim worked for eleven years in the Diplomatic Service, including postings to Afghanistan and Spain (as a Pashto and Spanish speaker, respectively). 

Prior to the Diplomatic Service, Pim worked for the Department for International Development, where he focused principally on the World Bank and climate change issues as well as undertaking a posting to Iraq as Deputy Programme Manager. 

He read Applied Psychology at undergraduate level, including a year working as an Assistant Psychologist in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. Following this, he undertook an MSc in Public Policy, with a thesis on climate change and the international human rights law framework. 

Pim joined the Foundation in 2020, working first as Director of Programmes for Prince William. He has led and played key roles in a wide range of Foundation programmes, including The Earthshot Prize, United for Wildlife, and the Foundation’s work to support the emergency responder community.

Emma has worked with Scotland's youth specific homelessness charity, Rock Trust, since May 2023. 

In the role of Service Manager, Emma leads on the implementation and development of our National prevention service, Upstream, as well as managing housing support services. 

She is passionate about early intervention and prevention and is committed to Rock Trust vision to end youth homelessness in Scotland. Emma sits on the International Living Lab for Upstream and works with our partners in the USA, Canada, Belgium, Australia, England and Wales to develop and promote prevention approaches to ending youth homelessness.

Yvonne is currently the Operational Director for Llamau – the leading youth homelessness charity in Wales. Founded over 30 years ago, Llamau provides young people who are homeless with a safe place to stay. Over the years we have supported 67,000 (and counting) young people, women and their children who are either homeless or facing homelessness.

Prior to this Yvonne worked for the UK Government as part of the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. 

Yvonne has over 14 years working in the third sector in the housing/homelessness field including five years as Regional Manager for The Salvation Army - the largest homelessness and supported accommodation charities in the UK.

Yvonne is also a non-executive board member for Taff Housing Association. 

At home Yvonne has just as busy a life. Married to Lee, they have four children and a fussy Labrador called Lionel. As a family they love the beach and a lazy Sunday.

Professor Peter Mackie is an academic in the School of Geography and Planning at Cardiff University where his work focuses on what works to prevent and end homelessness. 

Amongst a wide range of action-oriented studies, Pete led the Welsh Government funded review of homelessness legislation that shaped the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, and subsequently the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. 

More recently, Peter has played a key role in helping to bring the schools-based ‘Upstream’ homelessness prevention intervention to the UK.

Stephen’s career has been driven around supporting young people.  Following running multiple youth groups, Stephen undertook a Youth and Community Work Degree and Social Work Masters before joining Centrepoint in 2015.  

Since Joining Centrepoint, Stephen has managed the floating support team, the mental health team, worked in compliance and is now the National Prevention Manager, focusing on the work around the Upstream Survey.  

He is looking forward to working towards Centrepoint’s mission to end youth homelessness, and excited to lead on this project and develop this work in England.

Dr Caroline Bradley is a Clinical Psychologist with a specialism in adolescence and complex trauma. She has worked in a number of teams based in the NHS, local authority and charity sector. She has designed and set up a number of innovative, community based mental health services both in the UK and internationally. 

Caroline is currently the Principal Clinical Psychologist in the Lambeth Emotional Wellbeing Service (LEWS) which is an embedded mental health service within the Lambeth youth homelessness pathway. LEWS works with young parents, care leavers and unaccompanied asylum seeking people who are facing homelessness and the teams which support them, including Housing First. 

Matt joined Centrepoint last year with 15 years experience in housing and homelessness services across London and the South East. Matt has worked as a client-facing support worker as well as a range of leadership and management roles across different organisations, service types and areas. 

Prior to joining Centrepoint, Matt led on St Mungo's approach to Older People Care. He also oversaw a number of established Housing First services in London and Essex. 

Now leading Centrepoint's Housing and Support services in London (and Bournemouth), Matt is passionate about the transformative approach of Housing First for Youth and the potential for both alleviating and preventing youth homelessness. 

Matt is leading Centrepoint's work to clearly define the youth specific approach to Housing First as well as collaborating with colleagues and partners across Europe to develop a clear fidelity model for Housing First for Youth.

Bethan Wilkinson has been in management post in Lambeth Housing First for a year after previously working in Centrepoint as a Housing First Officer and Support and Progression Officer. 

Her current role involves supporting a staff team of 12 Housing First Officers who support 60 young people with multiple and complex needs in one of the biggest Housing First for Youth services in the country.

 Bethan is supporting ongoing work in Centrepoint to define Housing First for Youth and build best practice using direct experience from her team.

Jill has over 25 years’ experience working in the voluntary sector and local authorities delivering services to support children and young people in specialist residential and secure accommodation, and to prevent youth homelessness, in roles from directly supporting young people, managing supported accommodation services, service design and development, commissioning and coordination of partnerships to deliver a young people’s homelessness prevention pathway.

Jill has been with the Homelessness & Rough Sleeping Directorate for 5 years advising local authority housing and children’s services working together to prevent homelessness for 16 & 17 year olds, care leavers, young people leaving custody and 18 – 25 year olds.

Kim has 30 years’ experience of working in the housing and homelessness sector. 

For 25 years she worked across the spectrum of housing services within Local Government, leading, designing, and developing services cross departments, with key stakeholders and partners, achieving Gold Standard homeless prevention services for families and young people. 

Since 2018 Kim has been a Youth Homelessness Adviser within MHCLG, working directly with local authorities across England, reviewing their services and practice, providing supportive challenge, help and advice to develop and improve their youth homeless prevention services, compliant with guidance and focused on best practice. 

As a Senior Youth Homelessness Adviser she supports local authority Housing and Children Services departments to embed the Homelessness Reduction Act, and focus on homeless prevention for vulnerable young people, particularly those who are care experienced or aged 16/17. 

She also works directly with government policy leads on youth homelessness and leads a team of Youth Homelessness Advisers who together deliver national funding programmes to provide accommodation and support, and dedicated posts to support young people and care leavers from homeless and rough sleeping.

Cornelis joined Centrepoint as a Policy and Research Officer last summer. He holds a PhD in Anthropology from SOAS and previously worked in the field of HIV and sexual health. 

He is passionate about co-producing evidence-based policy solutions with communities impacted by a given issue.

With a degree in Modern Languages from a Midlands university, experience working overseas and over 30 years in the voluntary sector, Judith brings a  wide range of experience to her work.  Joining Nacro after university, she spent 24 years in various roles, culminating in innovative work with prisons and prison staff in the field of resettlement. A notable achievement was the development of the first prison-based housing advice centres, where trained prisoners acted as peer advisers—an initiative reflecting her deep belief in the strength of lived experience and peer support.

For the past 14 years, Judith has led Wyre Forest and South Worcestershire Nightstop, expanding its services to include family mediation. This vital service, now accessible across Worcestershire and within high schools, emphasises the importance of prevention in reducing youth homelessness. She passionately advocates for equipping young people with tools to manage conflict and build healthy relationships.

In her free time, Judith enjoys walking her dogs, attending local theatre productions, and horse riding.

Lisa has over 20 years of experience in corporate governance and housing management with a large local authority. Throughout her career, she has worked alongside tenants and residents to improve housing services and played a key role in creating best practice guides to enhance the authority’s working methods.

Lisa was also deeply involved in a programme aimed at supporting young people who were NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), helping them find housing and employment during a time of crisis.

For the past seven years, Lisa has specialised in family mediation at Nightstop, where she supports young people and their families through challenging relationship issues. By helping them navigate conflict and improve communication, Lisa has played an important role in preventing youth homelessness and strengthening family dynamics.

In her spare time Lisa enjoys running and walking her dog Coco Delilah – a sausage dog with short legs but a big personality.

Heidi's journey is one of deep dedication to supporting vulnerable youth and families, rooted in her background in social work and extensive frontline experience. With over two decades of commitment to addressing youth homelessness, she brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to her role as Program Design and Training Consultant at A Way Home Canada.

Before joining A Way Home, Heidi's contributions were instrumental as a trainer for the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, where she not only conducted trainings but also conducted fidelity reviews, ensuring quality and effectiveness in programs. Her earlier tenure at the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary, managing Housing First programs for seventeen years, showcases her long-standing commitment to providing essential services and support to vulnerable youth.

Within A Way Home Canada, Heidi plays a vital role in the Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Demonstration Lab, where she provides invaluable coaching and training to community partners across Canada, and internationally. Through her hands-on approach, she empowers others to deliver person-centered care effectively, fostering a community dedicated to improving the lives of young people and practitioners alike.

Dean McCullough is a Northern Irish television and radio presenter. Dean hosts his own daytime show on BBC Radio 1 weekday mornings from 5-7am and has become one of the most exciting broadcasters in the country and was awarded ‘Top LGBTQ+ Broadcaster’ by Attitude Magazine.

In television, Dean appeared as a campmate on ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’ 2024. He presents the weekly social media round up on ‘Big Brother: Late & Live’ and has also been a guest on ‘Love Island: Aftersun’, ‘Celebability’ and ‘Retreat Yourself’.

Dean is a live DJ, a captivating storyteller and documentary maker and has appeared on numerous shows including ‘Celebrity Mastermind’, ‘Strictly: It Takes Two’, ‘The Hit List’, ‘CBBC Mashup’, ‘Children In Need’ and ‘Eurovision: Make Me A Winner’.

Dean is Centrepoint’s Prevention Ambassador and has been open about his own experiences of homelessness – once as a teenager after his parents’ separation which left him and his mother homeless for a period of time, and again as he followed his dreams of moving down to London to pursue a career in musical theatre. 

Addison (Addi) is 23 year old Centrepoint resident, friendly, approachable, hardworking, mindful and helpful individual. He enjoys gaming, basketball, music and socializing with friends, 

In his spare time, Addi is volunteering at a charity shop. His family means the world to him and he is big on loyalty. He describes himself as loud when he wants to be, and he always lend a hand, some will describe him as a gentle giant. 

He is somewhat of a comedian who laugh at his own jokes. He is neurodivergent (autistic and  ADHD). Before coming to Centrepoint he was homeless sofa surfing, now he has a few achievements under his belt as result of determination and perseverance and a good support group.

Shannon has been a Centrepoint resident for a year and a half. 

Recently she has been involved in different project such as “The Tech Lending Scheme” where she learnt how to assemble laptop and dealing with small smartphone repairs. As well as being in a few adverts for Centrepoint and helping with production on a few others.

Shannon has also been recently awarded with the inspirational award held at The British Museum.

In her spare time, she enjoys singing at open mics and karaoke. Shannon also has 8 tattoos, but her favourite is her one inspired by Gilmore girls that's quotes " In Omnia Paratus" which roughly translates to "ready for anything" from Latin.

Kouroufia had a difficult start in life after been treated poorly for many years by a family member in Africa. After enduring years of hardship, he made the decision to leave his country but his journey through Africa and Europe to the UK was challenging with limited food and shelter.

Since then, Kouroufia has attended school to learn English and pursue his dreams and aspires to become a cybersecurity expert. During his time in high school, he was honoured twice as "Student of the Year" and successfully completed his college education. 

He is now preparing to enter university next year to further his studies.  In addition, Kouroufia work as a Youth Assistance Manager at Paiwand and participates in a focus group at Centrepoint, advocating for the voices of homeless young people. he family.

Dr Marc Pescod is an Educational Psychologist that has specialised in youth homelessness. Since completing his doctoral thesis in the educational experiences of homeless young people, Marc has started working with Centrepoint supporting teams in providing better outcomes for its young people. 

Marc works with a number of teams across the organisation providing safe, supportive spaces for staff, designing and delivering training both inside and outside the organisation and, consulting on areas of his expertise: supporting individuals into Employment, Education and Training (EET) and supporting prevention. Marc also co-leads on the Neuropsychology Pathway which supports young people with neurodivergence get the right support and a potential diagnosis.

As well as his work at Centrepoint. Marc works at the London Borough of Havering where he led on a project to support the mental health outcomes of young homeless people. One arm of the project looks to empower schools, parents and children with knowledge and strategies to support the detrimental impact of homelessness. The project has reached numerous schools and young people across Havering and provides a framework of how schools can be utilised to improve the outcomes for this vulnerable group.

Recently, Marc was named one of the 40 people under the age of 40 to "Shape the future of the housing sector" for his contribution to the industry.

Sharon, with over 15 years of experience working with families and children, has been the Home School Support Worker at Redden Court School since 2019. 

Focusing on supporting and engaging with families, particularly those facing difficult home lives, Sharon empowers students to reach their full potential. 

She builds strong relationships with families, provides vital support, connects them with essential local services and fosters open communication between home and school.

Kane Ward joined Redden Court in January 2018 having previously worked in two other local authorities within inner London. 

He is currently responsible for the Behaviour, Safeguarding and Attitudes within the school, Governor for Havering Virtual School and Chair of the Secondary Behaviour Partnership for Havering. 

Kane is passionate about creating an environment in which all students can progress and develop with confidence no matter what their background.

Tom Fisher is the Head of the Greater Manchester Good Landlord Charter Implementation Unit with the Tenancy Dispute Service (TDS), a not-for-profit organisation specialising in tenancy deposit protection and dispute resolution. 

With over a decade of experience in the housing and homelessness sector, most recently working as Business Development Manager at Centrepoint. Tom is also a Trustee and Vice Chair of The Bond Board, a Greater Manchester housing charity. 

He oversees the strategic and operational management of the Good Landlord Charter, focusing on promoting ethical rental practices, strengthening tenant protections, and improving the quality of rented housing and rent experience in Greater Manchester.

Youth Homelessness Adviser, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Samad has over 16 years experience of working in the homelessness sector. 

He has been with MHCLG as a youth homelessness adviser, specialising in support for care leavers, for 6 years. 

He works with local authorities on developing their approach to preventing homelessness and wider accommodation offer for care leavers including strengthening joint working arrangements and also oversee delivery of a programme of Department of Education funding supporting care leavers at risk of homelessness and rough sleeping. 

Prior to working in central government, he spent over 10 years in the third sector, managing housing and homelessness prevention services supporting young people and care leavers in a range of settings including Housing Advice, floating support, mediation and supported accommodation.

Thomasin has worked in the Civil Service for 18 years, working on a number of important programmes across the children’s services area. These include Looked after Children policy, social work policy and children’s home policy. 

She is currently the policy lead for Care Leaver Health and Housing Policy.

Christy Acton is the Founder and CEO of not-for-profit, Standing Tall which supports and matches people experiencing homelessness into stable jobs and safe homes. 4 out of 5 people Standing Tall helps are still off the streets and in the same job one year later. 

The organisation is currently working in 7 UK cities. Their stable jobs come from employer partners which include Network Rail, Amey, ISS and Barclays. 

Safe homes are coming from Standing Tall's Amici Hosts, people with a spare room who are trained and supported to welcome the person in the 6 months before they get their own homes.