Blocks in the road (map) : community opposition to foyer-style accommodation

The Road Home recommends Foyer models (that) provide young people who are homeless with stable accommodation and other supports. Taking up this recommendation, in 2009 a South Australian not-for-profit organisation applied to North and Eastern Adelaide councils for approval to build supported accommodation for young people aged 17-24 years who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness (the Youth Homeless Project). However, the application was vehemently opposed by local residents. Action groups lobbied local councillors and mobilised support through fliers, petitions and letters to the local newspaper. In three different potential housing sites, the local campaigns were successful and the proposals were defeated.The opposition's success highlights a critical roadblock for new initiatives for young homeless people: negative community perceptions and attitudes. It follows that if proposals aren't accompanied by strategies to dismantle these roadblocks, recommendations for Foyer-style accommodation will remain just that - recommendations. Here, we look at local residents' claims that young homeless people threaten their community. We then explore ways to challenge this perception that young homeless people don't belong.