How innovative housing approaches can reduce loneliness, improve connectedness and have a positive impact on health and wellbeing
A Webinar by MAC-UK
Youth homelessness is a growing issue in the UK, with one in 52 young people aged 16-24 being homeless or at risk nationally, rising to 1 in 50 within London (Centrepoint, 2023). The most common cause is family breakdowns, with 54% of cases arising due to family or friends being unable, or unwilling, to accommodate (Centrepoint, 2023), whilst other significant causes include domestic abuse (11%) and evictions from private or social housing (9%) (Centrepoint, 2023). Experiences of housing instability have wide ranging impacts on young people’s mental health, including feelings of disconnection and loneliness (Centrepoint, 2022).
Research shows that people who have experienced homelessness are among those most at risk of social isolation and feeling lonely due to a number of factors, not only from the social exclusion arising from homelessness itself (Lachaud et al., 2024) but also from disrupted relationships and reduced support networks (Patterson et al., 2015; Bower et al., 2018) and ongoing stigma and discrimination that can make it harder to build and maintain meaningful connections (Mejia-Lancheros et al., 2021). These challenges can persist even after someone is housed, continuing to impact their sense of connectedness and wellbeing.
MAC-UK believes that in order to build an alternative future for socially excluded young people we need to focus on building alternative solutions.
In this webinar, MAC-UK will explore how housing inequality and loneliness are inextricably linked and how, together, they contribute to poor mental health. Drawing on MAC-UK’s experience of working across a range of settings in the housing sector – including children’s homes, residential support-services, community rehabilitation supported living services and care-leavers’ teams – we will share how developing preventative psychosocial interventions, embedding co-production, and implementing a contextual mental health framework within these settings can be powerful ways to improve connectedness, reduce loneliness and positively impact young people’s health and wellbeing.
The webinar is aimed at practitioners, service managers and decision-makers working with young people at all levels of the system. It will be especially relevant for those supporting young people experiencing housing-related challenges, as well as service managers and decision-makers seeking to design more connected, supportive and equitable services. However, everyone is welcome to attend, and we hope attendees will leave with ideas and practical insights to take into their own work.
In this interactive 1-hour webinar, you will:
● Hear examples of how co-production with young people can function as an intervention in itself, reducing loneliness and improving wellbeing
● Gain greater insight into the voices of young people affected by these issues
● Gain an understanding of the importance of taking a multi-level approach, including the need for organisation-level change
● Learn about fresh ideas about how the housing sector could be reimagined, including exploring co-operative housing as an alternative model that can support young people’s social connectedness, autonomy and ownership
● Have the chance to get involved in live audience Q&A on these topics
Speaker information:
Jake Lake, Policy, Public Health and Prevention Lead, MAC-UK
Tess Saunders, Clinical Psychologist, MAC-UK
Leah Watson, Trainee Clinical Psychologist, MAC-UK
LinkedIn handle: MAC-UK | LinkedIn
Website: MAC-UK
Organiser: MAC-UK