Depaul UK

In the late 1980s, the streets of London were a stark symbol of a widening social chasm. High unemployment and soaring inflation had created a visible crisis, with thousands of young people sleeping rough—a grim reality that earned certain areas the notorious title of “cardboard cities.” It was against this backdrop of urgent human need that Depaul UK was born in 1989. Inspired by the 17th-century humanitarian St. Vincent de Paul and guided by the late Cardinal Basil Hume and Mark McGreevy OBE, a group of people came together, committed to a singular, transformative vision: a society in which every individual has a place to call home and a stake in their community.

Thirty years later, Depaul UK has evolved from a single housing project into one of the largest charities dedicated to addressing youth homelessness across the country, with services spanning London, Greater Manchester, the North East, South Yorkshire, and Milton Keynes. Their mission is both simple and profoundly challenging: to end homelessness and change the lives of those affected by it. This is achieved through a multi-faceted approach that prioritizes immediate safety, long-term support, and the relentless pursuit of prevention, proving that the most effective response is one rooted in compassion, innovation, and direct action.

The Immediate Crisis: Nightstop—A Community Safety Net

The most visible and immediate service offered by Depaul UK is its nationwide Nightstop network. For a young person aged 16 to 25 suddenly facing the trauma of a night on the streets or in an unsafe, precarious location—often referred to as “sofa surfing”—Nightstop provides an essential lifeline.

Nightstop is a unique, community-based response, relying on a network of vetted and trained volunteer hosts who offer their spare rooms as same-night emergency accommodation. This model is invaluable for several reasons:

1. Immediate Safety and Dignity: It provides an instant escape from danger, offering a warm, secure place to sleep, a home-cooked meal, and access to washing facilities. This restores a crucial sense of dignity and security at a time of extreme vulnerability. The network ensures that young people who are homeless are protected from the risks of abuse, exploitation, and exposure associated with rough sleeping.
2. Community-Led Solution: By mobilizing everyday citizens to open their homes, Nightstop transforms the abstract concept of "homelessness" into a local, personal challenge. It harnesses the power of community compassion, creating a human safety net that is flexible and responsive to sudden crises. Volunteer drivers and chaperones further ensure the safe travel of young people to and from their host’s home.
3. Breathing Space for Support: Crucially, a night of safety provides the vital "breathing space" needed for Depaul staff to connect the young person with dedicated support services. It stops the cycle of immediate crisis so that longer-term solutions can be put in place, preventing the slide into chronic homelessness.

Operating in over 30 communities across the UK, the Nightstop network has provided thousands of safe nights, demonstrating the profound impact of simple, generous community action.

Addressing Root Causes: The Power of Prevention

Depaul UK recognizes that providing emergency accommodation is only the first step. To genuinely end homelessness, the focus must shift to prevention—interrupting the pathways that lead young people to crisis in the first place. The charity’s prevention strategy is two-fold, targeting both the family dynamic and wider societal awareness:

1. Reconnect: Family Mediation

A leading cause of youth homelessness is family breakdown. Often, young people are forced out of their homes due to relationship conflict, coming out, abuse, or financial pressures, with complex emotional and mental health challenges compounding the situation.

Depaul’s Reconnect service offers specialized support and mediation to families in conflict. This work is trauma-informed and non-judgmental, focusing on helping families improve communication, rebuild strained relationships, and navigate difficult circumstances together. By mediating these breakdowns, Reconnect aims to either keep the young person safely in their home or ensure that if they do leave, it is a planned, supported transition, rather than an abrupt, dangerous expulsion.

2. Prevention through Education

Depaul UK delivers proactive, interactive workshops in schools to thousands of young people every year. These bold educational programs help children and teenagers understand the complexities of homelessness, recognize the risks they and their peers might face, make safer life choices, and, most importantly, know exactly where to turn for help if their home life becomes unstable. This early intervention approach is designed to demystify the issue and equip young people with the knowledge to avert future crises, making it a powerful, systemic response to prevention.

The Depaul Way: Holistic, Trauma-Informed Support

For young people who require more than just emergency shelter, Depaul provides a range of longer-term supported accommodation across its regional hubs. This is where the charity’s mission of "changing lives" comes fully into effect.

Depaul UK | Jamie's story

It is a commitment to providing not just a roof, but a comprehensive, holistic wrap-around support package that empowers residents to move toward independence.

A Trauma-Informed Approach

The lived experience of young people who are homeless is often defined by significant trauma—abuse, instability, neglect, and chronic stress. Depaul UK has fully integrated a trauma-informed approach across all its services. This model shifts the focus from "What is wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" Staff are rigorously trained to understand how trauma affects behavior, relationships, and the ability to function independently. This person-centered care creates a safe, predictable, and supportive environment that is essential for healing and rebuilding.

Building Independence: Skills and Confidence

The key focus of the supported accommodation is skill-building and personal development. Young residents work closely with an assigned key worker on issues critical to long-term stability:

• Life Skills: Budgeting, financial management, cooking, household maintenance.
• Education and Employment: Accessing training, completing education, writing CVs, and preparing for the workforce. The "Steps to Success" initiative, for example, provides weekly skills sessions to help individuals become "work ready."
• Well-being: Addressing mental health issues, managing complex needs, and developing healthy coping mechanisms.

This comprehensive support is designed to ensure that when a young person moves out of Depaul’s services, they are not simply housed, but are equipped with the tools, skills, and confidence they need to secure and maintain a stable future.

Driving Systemic Change through Innovation and Advocacy

Depaul UK is not content to simply manage the crisis; it actively seeks to drive systemic change through evidence-based research and innovation, embodying the Vincentian value of being "inventive unto infinity."

Evidence-Based Innovation

To improve outcomes and measure genuine progress, Depaul has pioneered sophisticated tools, notably:

• The Youth Homelessness Outcomes Tracker (YHOT): Developed through extensive consultation with young people, this tool measures areas of change that truly matter to them, providing a rigorous way to assess the efficacy of services beyond basic accommodation.
• Danger Zones and Stepping Stones: This assessment tool helps staff evaluate temporary living arrangements to protect young people from harm and effectively guide them toward stable housing options.

Policy and Partnership

The charity maintains a strong commitment to taking a wider role in civil society. It works in active partnership with government, local authorities, and the private sector to influence policy and secure better outcomes for young people who are homeless. For instance, in one North-West partnership, Depaul's work in providing services for care leavers and supporting people who are homeless generated over £300,000 in Social Value against a committed target, demonstrating the significant economic and community return on investment in their services.

Ultimately, Depaul UK’s work is a powerful demonstration of its unwavering values:

• We celebrate the potential in people: Empowering young people to make decisions, set goals, and take ownership of their futures.
• We put our words into action: Taking bold, direct steps, like establishing Nightstop, to address urgent needs.
• We believe in rights and responsibilities: Upholding the fundamental rights of young people while supporting them to take responsibility for their choices.

By combining the immediate safety net of Nightstop with a holistic, long-term approach focused on prevention, trauma-informed care, and client empowerment, Depaul UK is successfully changing the narrative of youth homelessness. It is helping thousands of young people transition from a state of crisis and instability to one of hope, security, and a future where they have a true stake in their community.