Meeting The Needs Of Vulnerable People: Finalist LinkLiving: SmartLiving Peer Education Project Summary SmartLiving is a peer education project which seeks to support young people aged 16-24 in sustaining their tenancies by providing housing information and advice. Run by LinkLiving (part of the Link group of Scottish housing associations, social enterprises and voluntary organisations), SmartLiving offers excellent training and confidence-boosting experiences for the young peer education volunteers, helping them gain access to education and increase their employability. The volunteers, having themselves lived through the experience, and in some cases trauma, of establishing their first home, are well positioned to pass on information and guidance to others in their age group. Volunteers go through a programme of training and confidence building so they can deliver workshops in local secondary schools, youth clubs, young offenders institutions and careers centres about homelessness and what is involved in successfully maintaining a tenancy. Originally established in Falkirk in 2005, SmartLiving secured funding in March 2010 to expand into Edinburgh and Fife. Six partner housing associations (HAs) are now referring young people who are interested in
becoming peer education volunteers and are offering SmartLiving sessions to their young tenants and service users: Link and Paragon HAs (Falkirk) Port of Leith and Dunedin Canmore HAs (Edinburgh) Fife and Kingdom HAs (Fife). What did you set out to achieve? SmartLiving was set up in response to LinkLiving support workers repeatedly hearing young people say, I wish I d known then what I know now and seeing too many young people getting tenancies easily but then struggling with rent arrears, having difficulties with neighbours and facing risks, all because they didn t have a clue what they were taking on. To help young people avoid these problems, LinkLiving wanted the right kind of information and advice to reach them while they were weighing up their future options or about to move into their first tenancy. What better way to get the messages across than directly from those who had been there, done it and could talk from their own experiences? LinkLiving decided to recruit, train and support young people who had been through the process of setting up and sustaining their tenancy, and who could speak to their peers in a credible way and be heard. The ongoing goal of the project is to empower a team of young people with the skills and confidence they need to operate a Peer Education Service that supports other young people to make choices about their housing options. Following the project s initial success in Falkirk, it was agreed that SmartLiving would seek to expand its activities into areas where it was felt the project could bring tangible benefits. During March 2010 we worked towards obtaining future funding for the service, supported by Linkwide (the regeneration and development arm of the Link group) and we now have funding until March 2011 from the Scottish Government s Wider Role Fund, Falkirk Council, Fife Council, Robertson Trust and Link Group which has enabled us to extend the service into Fife and Edinburgh and continue in Falkirk. During the period to March 2011, SmartLiving s aims are to: recruit a dedicated staff team of eight recruit and train 60 peer education volunteers (20 from each area of operation) deliver over 60 peer education sessions. How were these aims and objectives met? The project has already been successful in its efforts both to educate young people in the Falkirk area and to provide training and skills for the volunteers themselves. Consistently, over 90% of volunteers report increased self-
esteem. We worked in partnership with Falkirk Council (Education and Housing Services) to develop a training pack called House About Me which formed the basis of the sessions delivered to school pupils. Housing Education and Advice is now part of the standard curriculum in Falkirk High Schools. We anticipate similar success in Edinburgh and Fife over the coming months. In the twelve months to March 2010, a total of 746 young people received peer education sessions. The project had 20 volunteers delivering peer education sessions as of March 2010. These volunteers had undertaken various training courses and achieved several awards, including Millennium Volunteer Awards and Youth Achievement Awards. What challenges did the project face, and what lessons were learned? 1. Successfully engaging young people who had been homeless Most of the volunteer peer educators lead chaotic lifestyles. Many have low self esteem and lack confidence so it is a challenge for them to commit to regular training sessions and stand up and speak in front of their peers. SmartLiving works to overcome this by encouraging the volunteers to see themselves as experts on homelessness issues. Being regarded as an expert is a new experience for these young people and encourages them to remain engaged and motivated. The opportunity to gain volunteering awards and access other training opportunities also keeps the volunteers interested many initially become involved out of a desire to prevent other young people experiencing the same problems they had but most realise they are also benefitting personally from taking part in the project. 2. Engaging the local authorities and gaining the attention of local schools The main lesson learned is that partnership working is the key to the successful take-up of the project by local authorities and schools. SmartLiving has worked hard to develop a positive relationship with Falkirk, Edinburgh and Fife Councils and to demonstrate how the project is closely aligned to their priorities. Falkirk Council s Performance Plan for 2008-2011 states an outcome of improved employability for all young people. As stated in its Single Outcome Agreement, the council also aims to "provide flexible curriculum that meets the needs of all young people". SmartLiving delivers on the following requirements: Increasing the availability and uptake of work based training Improving the transition from schools to education, employment and/or training Raising the aspirations of our young people and families Raising the employability of our workforce.
Fife Council s Community Planning Partnership Single Outcome Agreement has the following local outcomes: Promoting educational achievement Promoting more positive behaviours in young people Improve educational attainment and achievement for all Targeting support to vulnerable people. The Edinburgh Community Planning Partnership Single Outcome Agreement has the following local outcomes: Young people go on to positive sustainable destinations Young people are confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens. In addition SmartLiving has a close strategic fit with the Edinburgh homelessness strategy 2008-12, especially: Early intervention with young people Increased advice and information Prevention of homelessness Improved employability through training Volunteering opportunities for young people. How was the success of the project measured? At the end of every SmartLiving session, participants and staff (e.g. school teachers) are asked to fill out an evaluation form. The feedback received shows that most young people enjoy the sessions, engage with the peer educators and learn new information that could help them make the right choices about their future housing options. Staff members have also responded positively to SmartLiving. Feedback from the volunteers has also been important. In a recent survey they said they were satisfied with their access to and the quality of training, support, award schemes and social activities. Importantly, the volunteers reported that their involvement in SmartLiving has greatly helped to increase their confidence, self esteem and motivation. The volunteers also believe that their ability to access further education or paid employment has increased as a result of their participation in the project. What were the key positive outcomes? The fact that SmartLiving has received the backing of major funders including the Scottish Government to extend its activities in Fife and Edinburgh is evidence that it is successfully delivering positive outcomes for the young people involved in the project. Smartliving contributes to the Scottish Government Priority of a Smarter
Scotland on multiple levels. Young people who become Peer Educators receive volunteer training on a wide range of subjects/activities including IT, employability and transferable skills including working with others, presentation skills, self esteem and literacy skills. In addition young volunteers are supported to achieve Millennium Volunteer Awards from Silver Youth Achievement to Platinum Youth Achievement (equivalent to an Advanced Higher). Smartliving provides an opportunity to progress to further education, work experience and training. The project therefore helps young people to grow, develop and fulfil their potential in line with Skills for Scotland Strategy and Getting it Right for Every Child. In addition, the Peer Educators pass on their experience to young people in schools and to other young people who are also vulnerable and about to start their own tenancies. SmartLiving fulfils the Scottish Government s Wider Role Priority of Early intervention for and with vulnerable individuals, families and disadvantaged communities by working with vulnerable young people who are starting or thinking of starting a tenancy and setting up their own homes. Young people with little experience of living skills and financial capability are more likely to abandon tenancies, end up in debt or experience tenancy failure through other reasons such as anti-social behaviour. SmartLiving addresses this issue by using young people who have experienced setting up their own tenancies to teach other young people about the process of setting up a home and successfully managing a tenancy. How did the project demonstrate positive practice in equality and diversity? The key success of the project in terms of equality and diversity has been to open up opportunities for the volunteers that probably would never otherwise have been open to them, due to their chaotic lifestyles. The is perhaps most effectively demonstrated through the words of one of the volunteers in the words of one: It s been a great experience for me, it s really taught me a lot and I have gained some awards like the Millennium Volunteer Award which you get for volunteering your time and Youth Achievement Award, where you have to keep a portfolio of evidence of all the challenges you set yourself. This will hopefully help me get a job or go back to college. In addition, the SmartLiving volunteers undertook training sessions on equality and diversity issues as they prepared to deliver sessions to their peers. We also seek to ensure practice equality and diversity in the following ways: All policy, procedure and practice guidelines developed have taken into account our commitment to equal opportunities Using a wide range of contacts and methods to promote the volunteering
opportunity, aiming to reach a diverse range of young people Setting up arrangements to ensure that we do not exclude young people on the basis of previous criminal convictions, unless it was a Schedule 1 offence Offering support to potential volunteers to complete any necessary application forms, to the service and for Disclosure Scotland checks Gathering Equal Opportunities monitoring information to reflect on how we might need to improve practice in future Offering volunteer induction sessions on attitudes and values, to reinforce the non-judgemental person-centred approach of the service. What elements of the project could be replicated by others? Link s new befriending/mentoring project, RealLiving, has replicated a number of the elements of this project. While the tasks of the RealLiving volunteers (increasing social contact through a befriending relationship) differ from those of SmartLiving, the way of working with volunteers has been replicated e.g. the recruitment and induction of volunteers and the ongoing support and training offered. The policies, procedures and model of working developed by SmartLiving and accredited with Investing in Volunteers status in 2008 will be used in all future volunteering projects developed by Link. The expansion of SmartLiving into Fife and Edinburgh also demonstrates how the key elements of the project are able to be replicated in different geographical areas. While we intend to replicate the model almost entirely in Fife through focusing on delivering peer education sessions in schools, in Edinburgh we will be delivering housing advice, information and support to young people in non-school environments, e.g. youth groups, young tenants groups or through one-to-one mentoring. Link believes that there are potential opportunities within many of its wider role activities, such as tenant participation and community regeneration. We are currently exploring the potential of a volunteer-based peer education project for older tenants and service users. How has your project improved the lives and environment of people locally? We firmly believe that education creates opportunity and choice and helps ensure that the young people who come into contact with SmartLiving, either as volunteers or participants in the sessions, can lead fulfilling and independent lives. Hearing directly from their peers about the pleasures and pitfalls independent living allows the young people who attend the sessions to make the informed choices on which their futures depend. For the volunteers themselves, the training, education, employment and confidence-building opportunities provided by SmartLiving give them the chance to move on in life that most of the young people would never
otherwise have accessed. One volunteer said: I never thought I would be able to go into schools and stand in front of classes and give a presentation, or ever make a DVD that will be played in front of an audience or ever facilitate a session or workshop to workers like I did at Stirling University, or be interviewed for the Glasgow Herald, but I have. I have even met the Queen! SmartLiving has helped give me direction with my life and may also offer a way to get work in the future. I feel that being involved has greatly increased my confidence and raised my self-esteem. I hope that I will eventually have a career working with young people, either as a support worker or a youth worker. How have you worked with communities and other stakeholders to ensure that change is sustainable? By its very nature the SmartLiving project involves vulnerable people: all of the 18 current volunteers are young, on a low income, unemployed and have experienced homelessness. The young people who participate in the sessions are also potentially vulnerable in the sense that making the wrong choices about independent living could result in homelessness and other difficulties into their adult lives. The venues where the SmartLiving sessions are delivered include not only schools but also school non-attenders groups and Polmont Young Offenders Institution, ensuring that young people who are no longer in the education system receive advice and information. As SmartLiving has developed over time, the volunteers have become extremely proactive in shaping the project. When SmartLiving was initially established, the project co-ordinator had to take a significant lead in developing the sessions that the peer educators delivered. Now, as the volunteers have gained confidence, they have truly come to shape the service and way it is delivered. An example of this is the imagination and enthusiasm the volunteers show for using information in different formats to deliver the advice sessions. Ideas that volunteers came up with and which are now being developed include: A comic strip about a homeless person, developed with the support of Falkirk Council s Literacy Team The publication of a book penned by the volunteers, featuring their own stories and poems about their life experiences, again with the help of the Literacy Team at Falkirk Council A unique board game which takes players on a journey of independent living, facing dangers and opportunities along the way and requiring players to make their own choices about a variety of housing issues.