I am Youth Homelessness Manager at Homeless Link, the national membership charity for organisations working with people who become homeless in England.

My Fellowship will explore and develop learning on how housing solutions can respond to care leavers' psychological and developmental needs, facilitate safe transitions to adulthood, prevent homelessness and build resilience. Through my work in youth and homelessness organisations I have seen the struggles young people face, and how often they are failed by the systems supposed to support them, as they transition out of care. This is particularly the case for young people who've entered the care system at an older age and those with experiences of complex trauma.

I am excited to learn about practical and strategic solutions and how these can be applied in the UK. I hope learning from my Fellowship will provoke conversations on the importance of housing solutions in care planning, bringing focus to the role youth housing and homelessness services can and should play in transitional support and safeguarding processes, and identify how interventions can be implemented to better meet young people's needs.