Finding it all at the YMCA
Mendip District Council's family mediation service is provided in partnership with the YMCA. It is funded through the council's housing budget and helps young people at risk of homelessness return to the family home.
A typical case seen by Mendip's Family Mediation Service involves a young man of 16 or 17. He has finished his GCSEs and chosen not to continue in education or training.
He sits around the family home all day, watching TV and eating. The child benefit has stopped and his parents have run out of patience. They left home at a young age and went straight into social housing. During an argument one evening they tell him it's time he stood on his own two feet. He arrives at the council's Housing Advice team saying he is homeless.
Family mediation service
Mendip District Council is one of a growing number of local authorities providing a family mediation service for cases like this. The service has been funded since 2004 and is operated on the council's behalf by the YMCA.
Jai Vick, Mendip's Senior Housing Options Officer, explains how it works:
"We'll see a client who is threatened with homelessness and refer them into this service. The YMCA officer will visit the client at a neutral venue. They will look to mediate with the family to get them back home - either so that a planned move can be arranged later or to stay permanently."
Explaining the options
The mediation service accepts referrals for 16 to 25-year-olds, although most clients are under the age of 18. Vanessa Dunne, Family Mediation Officer, says there are a wide range of reasons for family relationship breakdowns. Arguments with siblings, particularly if they share a room; step-parents and second families; getting into trouble with the police - all can play a part.
"It's very often about lack of income and a lack of financial provision for the parents, who are not in a position to support them anymore."
Not all the families need mediation, says Dunne, they might just need somebody to run through their options with them.
"We give them a reality check. You don't just go and get a flat. We explain what being in emergency accommodation or bed-and-breakfast really means… We tell them how it really is."
A planned move away
Dunne works with families to find a solution. "It's not about stopping people from moving out if that's the right thing. It's about preventing homelessness - not leaving home in a crisis." In these cases, the service can help with a planned move away.
Dunne says there is a common misconception that families need to make their grown-up children homeless in order for support services to kick in. Other options are explored, such as finding an alternative place to stay, choice-based letting or the private rented sector.
Jai Vick believes that running the service through a partner agency has been an important factor in its success.
"When you operate a service like this in-house, clients will potentially think that the council has a vested interest in keeping the young person at home to save itself money."
Meetings with the mediator take place in a neutral location, rather than in an office - which can be intimidating for young people. The mediator will look out for signs that the young person is fleeing domestic violence, in which case specialist support is provided.
Spending to save
The mediation scheme has been a huge success: during the 2008/09 financial year, 91 per cent of the young people were able to return home. It costs around £32,000 a year to provide, which comes from the bed-and-breakfast budget on a ‘spend to save' basis.
Councilllor Maureen Brandon, Mendip's Portfolio Holder for Housing, fully supports the mediation scheme. She has kept her cabinet colleagues informed of its progress.
"It has proved very successful," she says. "The aim is to get families talking. Often, when a problem is discussed with an independent third party, everyone realises that it can be worked out."
Contact
Jai Vick, Senior Housing Options Officer
Mendip District Council
email: [email protected]
Published July 2009.