Employing young people with experience of homelessness: guidelines for employers

There are many reasons why young people experience homelessness. It may not be safe for them to stay at home, they may have experienced eviction or family life may have become too hard. Therefore, it is vital that government, local government, charities and the private sector work together to support young people to overcome homelessness, progress to independence and live meaningful lives.

As part of our report entitled 'Human Costs and Lost Potential: The Real Cost of Youth Homelessness' and our commitment to ending youth homelessness, Centrepoint has developed the following guide for employers to support vulnerable young people into employment. This guide was designed in collaboration with colleagues from Centrepoint’s CP Works service, who support young people to access employment, education and training opportunities, and young people with experiences of homelessness.

Recommendations for employers:

• Create entry level jobs that are really accessible for young people with experience of homelessness: entry level jobs should not require previous work experience.
• Create an inclusive workplace and a safe space for young people with experience of homelessness. Workshops on the causes and consequences of homelessness and volunteer days supporting a local charity could help in building a trauma-informed environment* in your workplace to successfully induct young people, enable them to progress in their new job and give them a fair chance.
• Implement a buddy system for new employees in your company. A friendly face checking on them, not exclusively on their work tasks, could help them in their first few months in the company.
• Support them with ad-hoc training: they might have missed years of education and still catching up on important skills.
• Be patient: young people with experience of homelessness might need more supervision and feedback in their first months on the job.
• Install predictable routines and schedules and be ready to adapt them to their needs.
• Support them in building their motivation by giving them a sense of belonging, as well as achievable and co-designed goals.
• Be transparent and clear about career progression and manage their expectations.
• …and finally, let them make mistakes and learn from them, providing feedback, leadership and an example they can learn from.

*To reach a Trauma-Informed Environment in your workplace you have to take into account the emotional background and psychological needs of your employees

Leila's experience in the workplace:

Leila, 19 from London, just started a new job in the hospitality industry and highlighted the importance of having a caring authority figure in the workplace, especially because she missed a parental figure growing up. She really appreciates that her manager sat down with her to design her initial training program. After that, the manager organized weekly check-ins so Leila was able to feedback on things that she has struggled with and highlight what she has enjoyed in the past week.

Also her co-workers have been very considerate and thoughtful. For example, one day a co-worker noticed that she had not had breakfast before starting her shift so told her to go to the back for five minutes and have something to eat.

These experiences contrast with her first work experience, where issues at home and a demanding workplace meant that Leila had felt unable to cope. As such, Leila felt misunderstood by and isolated from her employer and colleagues, because she could not perform to the high standards that were expected. With no one checking on her, she ended up not performing as she would have liked and finally realized it was not a good workplace for her.