The Foyer housing model is a method of transitional housing for youth that evolved from temporary housing for laborers in Europe. After World War II, foyers were used to provide accommodation for a movement of people from rural France to cities seeking work. The term "foyer" means hearth in French. They later developed to house migrant workers, primarily from Algeria, serving as a path to independent labor and accommodation. [1]
The foyer model has evolved into a philosophy and housing program for supporting at risk young people focused on a supportive relationship between caregivers and residents. Implementations typically provide partially or fully subsidized housing and educational, vocational, or work opportunities, as well as counselling services. [2] [3] [4]
In the late 1990s, youth homelessness and unemployment became a rising problem, and United Kingdom policymakers led by Sheila McKechnie proposed foyers as a combined solution, in an attempt to end the "no job no house no house no job" cycle. [3] [5] Promising success in the United Kingdom sparked interest in Australia and the United States, leading to meta-studies of UK research and funding from the Australian federal government and philanthropic organizations in the US. [3]
While the model began as a temporary form of housing for workers migrating to cities, most view the foyer model as a philosophical approach applied to concrete implementations of transitional housing. [6] The Foyer Federation, an organization in the United Kingdom founded in 1992 to "innovate, champion service reform, and ensure the Foyer network can deliver the best quality offer for young people" defines the concept in a set of three promises: [7]
Anderson, I. and Quilgars, D., two researchers who studied the effectiveness of the initial U.K. foyers in the early 1990s described the foyer concept as an "integrated approach to meeting the needs of young people during their transition from dependence to independence by linking affordable accommodation to training and employment". [2] In general, young people need varying degrees and types of aid while making the transition into adulthood, and foyers aim to provide that aid to disadvantaged and at-risk individuals who may not have an alternative support system or may have complex needs. [6] Motivating reasons for homelessness programs to specifically target youth include that youth require different types and quantities of support, and homelessness as a young person can lead to long-term homelessness which may be more difficult to address systemically. [6]
Following World War II, France was left in a thoroughly damaged state. Germany took an estimated 2.4 million French workers captive and destroyed over a million buildings, leaving over a million people homeless. [8] With prisoners of war returning from Germany and a surge of young people migrating from rural to urban areas all seeking work, there was a serious lack of sufficient housing. It was increasingly clear that government intervention was necessary to provide aid to these its citizens. The French government responded by creating a HLM (rent-controlled housing) system. Participating HML organizations were authorized to build and rent out foyers. Typically, foyers were associated with a specific group, for example the (FJT), (Foyers for Young Workers) emerged to provide affordable housing for young workers leaving home for work in urban areas. [9] Initially, construction of foyers was focused on the highest density area of young people, near Paris. Continuing through the 1960s and early 1970s, foyers continued to provide affordable housing for young people and other groups, such as migrants workers; however, they began to offer less comprehensive services such as social and educational opportunities. By the 1980s, foyers focusing on specific groups of people with specific needs began to develop, such as those focused on supporting migrant workers and troubled youth. [9] While the housing was widely appreciated by supported groups, there was large criticism of foyers as limiting independence, with R. Lovett et al. reporting that many residing with FJT lamented that "[t]hey want us to be responsible, but they give us few rights".
In addition to housing young workers emigrating from rural France to urban areas, foyers housed workers immigrating during the reconstruction period and the decades after. Some foyers that were designed specifically for migrants were essentially under military control; they generally had a central room which individual residences were built around to allow easy supervision. [1] Over time, these foyers housed different waves of French immigrants, and have become their own socially-governed institutions. So long as criminal activity isn't occurring, they're generally safe from intervention from political figures or policing. Such foyers intended to house migrant workers are sometimes referred to, albeit derogatively, as foyer-taudis. These foyers aren't generally reflective of the scope or philosophy as the general foyer housing model, however they offer limited and similar affordances to migrant workers by acting as somewhat of a standard path for immigrants in achieving long-term employment and accommodation. Concerns have been raised of the marginalization of immigrants, especially those who are Black African, as one in 10 live in a foyer-type establishment, and make up a significant 2.4% of the French population. [1]
While foyers in France were largely a response to housing shortages post-WWII, the UK began introducing foyers much later, when various factors resulted in rising demand for affordable housing for young people without an appropriate rise in supply. With more and more work shifting from agricultural and manufacturing industries to the service industry, young people were required to leave their homes and find housing closer to where they were working on studying. Indeed, the increase in post-secondary education, such as community colleges, which don't provide dormitories for students also contributed to this large increase in demand for affordable housing. However, the government did not appropriately anticipate this growing need, and cuts to housing subsidies combined with an increase in housing rates without a comparative increase in wages for young workers dried up the available affordable housing. [9]
Towards the end of the 20th century, poorly skilled young workers in the UK began having significant difficulty finding employment that would pay for the increasingly expensive housing. Government intervention seemed inevitable, as this was an issue spanning social, economic, and housing sectors, as well as increasing research and sentiment that a successful transition into adulthood was predicated on proper training, supportive employment, and affordable housing. Sheila McKechnie, while the director of housing at the UK Charity Shelter, proposed adopting the French foyer model to provide a joint solution to these intertwined issues the youth faced. [9]
With the Foyer model growing in popularity in the U.K., groups in countries such as Australia are increasingly interested in evaluating whether the model is appropriate to implement. Many studies lament the lack of existing research, however Australian groups have published meta-studies on the existing literature, primarily that of the initial U.K. foyer projects. [6] [2] [10] [11]
An Australian report covering the financial viability of U.K. foyers found that the foyers typically charge a weekly fee. Some subsidize this fee within the foyer organization by staffing public facing businesses with foyer residents. The staff to resident ratio ranged from 1:6 to 1:20, and the bulk of the cost of the foyer was staff related. While most of the reported costs of the foyers On average, rent charged to residents covered less than 70% of the total costs with the rest covered by grants.
Homelessness in Canada was not a social problem until the 1980s. The Canadian government housing policies and programs in place throughout the 1970s were based on a concept of shelter as a basic need or requirement for survival and of the obligation of government and society to provide adequate housing for everyone. Public policies shifted away from rehousing in the 1980s in wealthy Western countries like Canada, which led to a de-housing of households that had previously been housed. By 1987, when the United Nations established the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH), homelessness had become a serious social problem in Canada. The report of the major 1987 IYSH conference held in Ottawa said that housing was not a high priority for government, and this was a significant contributor to the homelessness problem. While there was a demand for adequate and affordable housing for low income Canadian families, government funding was not available. In the 1980s a "wider segment of the population" began to experience homelessness for the first time – evident through their use of emergency shelters and soup kitchens. Shelters began to experience overcrowding, and demand for services for the homeless was constantly increasing. A series of cuts were made to national housing programs by the federal government through the mid-1980s and in the 1990s. While Canada's economy was robust, the cuts continued and in some cases accelerated in the 1990s, including cuts to the 1973 national affordable housing program. The government solution for homelessness was to create more homeless shelters and to increase emergency services. In the larger metropolitan areas like Toronto the use of homeless shelters increased by 75% from 1988 to 1998. Urban centres such as Montreal, Laval, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary all experienced increasing homelessness.
Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane sector of The British and Foreign Bible Society’s sub-committee, The Colporteur Society (1869), and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially established in 1996, bringing together a number of city missions across the country. The organisation specialises in the areas of homelessness and housing, families and children, early learning, youth, employment and skills, substance abuse, disability, mental health, and strengthening communities. Sharon Callister has been CEO since March 2022.
Centrepoint is a charity in the United Kingdom which provides accommodation and support to homeless people aged 16–25. The Prince of Wales has been a patron of the organisation since 2005; his first patronage. His mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was patron of the organisation before she died.
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median, as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affordable housing refers to mortgages and a number of forms that exist along a continuum – from emergency homeless shelters, to transitional housing, to non-market rental, to formal and informal rental, indigenous housing, and ending with affordable home ownership. Demand for affordable housing is generally associated with a decrease in housing affordability, such as rent increases, in addition to increased homelessness.
Homelessness in Australia is a social issue concerning the number of people in Australia that are considered to be homeless. There are no internationally agreed upon definitions of homelessness, making it difficult to compare levels of homelessness across countries. A majority of people experiencing homelessness long-term in Australia are found in the large cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. It is estimated that on any given night approximately 116,000 people will be homeless and many more are living in insecure housing, "one step away from being homeless". A person who does not obtain any shelter is often described as sleeping 'rough'.
Housing First is a policy that offers unconditional, permanent housing as quickly as possible to homeless people, and other supportive services afterward. It was first discussed in the 1990s, and in the following decades became government policy in certain locations within the Western world. There is a substantial base of evidence showing that Housing First is both an effective solution to homelessness and a form of cost savings, as it also reduces the use of public services like hospitals, jails, and emergency shelters. Cities like Helsinki and Vienna in Europe have seen dramatic reductions in homelessness due to the adaptation of Housing First policies, as have the North American cities Columbus, Ohio, Salt Lake City, Utah, and Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Homelessness in the United Kingdom is measured and responded to in differing ways in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but affects people living in every part of the UK's constituent countries. Most homeless people have at least a modicum of shelter but without any security of tenure. Unsheltered people, "rough sleepers", are a small minority of homeless people.
Breaking Ground, formerly Common Ground, is a nonprofit social services organization in New York City whose goal is to create high-quality permanent and transitional housing for the homeless. Its philosophy holds that supportive housing costs substantially less than homeless shelters — and many times less than jail cells or hospital rooms, and that people with psychiatric and other problems can better manage them once they are permanently housed and provided with services. Since its founding in 1990 by Rosanne Haggerty, the organization has created more than 5,000 units of housing for the homeless. "This is about creating a small town, rather than just a building," according to Haggerty. "It's about a real mixed society, working with many different people." Haggerty left the organization in 2011 to found Community Solutions, Inc. Brenda Rosen was promoted from Director, Housing Operations and Programs to Executive Director, and has led the organization since.
Youth exclusion is a form of social exclusion in which youth are at a social disadvantage in joining institutions and organizations in their societies. Troubled economies, lack of governmental programs, and barriers to education are examples of dysfunctions within social institutions that contribute to youth exclusion by making it more difficult for youth to transition into adulthood. European governments have recently recognized these shortcomings in societies organizational structures and have begun to re-examine policies regarding social exclusion. Many policies dealing with social exclusion are targeted at youth since this demographic of people face a transition into adulthood; defining career and lifestyle choices that will affect the future culture and structure of a society.
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure, and people who leave their homes because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.
Crisis accommodation is housing provided to people experiencing temporary or ongoing conditions of mental or physical health challenges. It aims to remove them from an otherwise harmful environment and allowing them to improve their situations from a safe and stable environment. Situations that may be alleviated through crisis accommodation include but are not limited to homelessness, domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. Crisis accommodation is typically provided through government organisations, not-for-profit organisations and charities. Crisis accommodation is also known as housing subsidies in other words. Crisis accommodation is provided everywhere around the world across various countries. There are other factors such as availability of the services and reasons like poverty and accumulation of debt that affect homelessness which needs to be taken into account in order to solve it as more people tend to look for urgent support when they are facing this crisis.
Youth Off The Streets is an Australian non-denominational not-for-profit youth organisation. The organisation works with young people and their families and communities in an endeavour to create safety, offer support and provide opportunities to build a positive future.
Launch Housing is a secular Melbourne-based community organisation that delivers homelessness services and housing supports to disadvantaged Victorians.
Transitional housing is temporary housing for certain segments of the homeless population, including working homeless people who are earning too little money to afford long-term housing. Transitional housing is set up to transition residents into permanent, affordable housing. It is not in an emergency homeless shelter, but usually a room or apartment in a residence with support services.
Caretakers Cottage is an Australian non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Sydney assisting children and young adults facing homelessness. Caretakers Cottage is funded by the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice to provide services for young people across Sydney's South-Eastern district. Services include short-term, emergency accommodation, semi-independent living options, case support and early intervention for young people at risk of homelessness.
Youth Action is the peak body organisation for young people and youth services in New South Wales, Australia. Previously known as Youth Action Policy Association (YAPA), the organisation represents 1.4 million young people and the services that support them.
Family homelessness refers to a family unit who do not have access to long term accommodation due to various circumstances such as socioeconomic status, access to resources and relationship breakdowns. In some Western countries, such as the United States, family homelessness is a new form of poverty, and a fast growing group of the homelessness population. Some American researchers argue that family homelessness is the inevitable result of imbalanced “low-income housing ratio” where there are more low-income households than there are low-cost housing units. A study in 2018 projected a total of 56,342 family households were recognized as homeless. Roughly 16,390 of these people were living in a place not meant for human habitation. It is believed that homeless families make up about a third of the United States’ population, with generally women being the lead of the household.
Homelessness in France is a significant social issue that is estimated to affect around 300,000 people - a figure that has doubled since 2012 (141,500) and tripled since 2001 (93,000). Around 185,000 people are currently staying in shelters, some 100,000 are in temporary housing for people seeking asylum and 16,000 live in slums.
Community housing in Australia is not-for-profit affordable housing provided by community housing organisations known as Community Housing Providers (CHPs). It is part of the social housing sector. CHPs have varying modes of operation and structure, and different types of stock. Any budget surplus in CHPs must be used to maintain existing housing, to provide better services for tenants or to help finance new properties. Although independent, the CHPs are regulated by the state, and commonly receive public funding. Most of their stock is owned by public housing authorities (SHAs) in each State, and the CHPs manage the tenancies using the rent received from tenants.
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