Building a Psychologically Informed Environment Robert Cade May

Building a Psychologically Informed Environment Robert Cade May 2020

Centrepoint was formed in 1969 ü Centrepoint was established in 1969 by an inspirational group led by Rev. Ken Leech, Vicar of St Anne’s Church in Soho, London. ü Since then, we have helped more than 150, 000 young people to change their stories and leave homelessness behind. ü We focus on working with 16 -25 year olds to achieve a job and a home. ü Over 50% of Centrepoint’s impact is now outside of London. We run services in Manchester, Yorkshire, and the North-East, and partner with over 100 smaller organisations across the UK. ü As well as running Supported Housing we provide a number of other services including skills and employability, health, independent living properties, and a national helpline

Our goal is to end youth homelessness by 2037 ü The Covid pandemic had a significant impact on the lives of young people: – Calls to our national helpline have increased by 33% – Youth unemployment has risen to 15% – Over 50% of homeless young people accessing Centrepoint services have some form of mental health challenge ü Nonetheless, we believe the number of young people being made homeless can be substantially reduced; a safe and stable place can be provided quickly for those affected; and they can be settled rapidly into a permanent home as soon as they are ready to live independently ü We can’t achieve this vision alone. It can only be realised by mobilising people; organisations; and governments; and working with them to bring about change across society

In 2018 we started our journey to make Centrepoint a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE)

There have been a number of factors that have driven success to date ü Don’t reinvent the wheel – align to work that is being done across the sector on developing PIE ü Embed the PIE across the whole organisation – sponsored by the Chief Executive and Board of Trustees ü Make change visible early – invest in changes to the physical environment ü Be clear about the scope of the PIE – our staff are not becoming psychologists ü Recruit a specialist lead to build the PIE You can read more about Centrepoint’s PIE journey at https: //drhelenmiles. medium. com/

Thank you www. centrepoint. org. uk Registered Charity number 292411