A research and policy agenda for delivering accommodation and support models that foster civic inclusion

There is now an accumulated body of evidence which suggests that in late modernity young people are at more risk than ever before. With the changing dynamics of family structures, a shift in the labour market to part-time casual work, underemployment and the lack of affordable housing stock, young people are increasingly finding the transition into independent living more complex, fragmented, risky and financially unobtainable. This in turn is increasing the likelihood of poverty, social exclusion and youth homelessness. This paper offers a research agenda which could inform better youth housing models and support programs as a means of providing realistic and sustainable exit points for young people who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Such an agenda would recognise and ensure young homeless people are integrated into the wider community through civic inclusion and participation; and are provided education, training and meaningful employment opportunities. The development of a model must respond to a wide range of young people's needs and differing situations, which has at its core a number of programs that focus on the development of social and living skills; which fosters social inclusion; and which can creatively and practically respond to the growing complexities facing young people's sense of citizenship in an ever changing global world.