Young people: From homelessness to citizenship? An evaluation of the Foyer approach.

This thesis is intended to test both a theory concerning the causes of youth homelessness and the validity of one approach to overcoming this social problem, that is the approach adopted by the British Foyer Movement. I argue that youth homelessness is the result of denied citizenship in the absence of family membership and through a lack of economic independence from both the family and the state. British social policy restricts the welfare entitlements of young people under the age of 25 years. For government, social security and other advantages of citizenship must be 'earned' through the fulfilment of certain obligations such as work and the making of tax contributions. My thesis provides evidence to show how environmental and structural disadvantages prevent many young people from meeting these obligations, thus rendering them vulnerable to homelessness. Evidence gathered through an in-depth study at one British Foyer is used to test the explanation of youth homelessness offered above through an investigation of the process of homelessness as it was experienced by the 33 young people who took part in the study. The experiences of and outcomes for study participants are also used to assess the validity of the Foyer approach to youth homelessness. It is suggested that the Foyer approach is unable to meet the stated aims of the British Foyer Federation in empowering young people to become socially and economically active citizens as it fails to recognise the prior needs of young people who have often experienced social exclusion. It is argued that the Foyer approach to tackling youth homelessness is based on individual rehabilitation and the conditional provision of services and as such is ineffective in overcoming the structural causes of youth homelessness for those who are most vulnerable to this social problem