On Monday 24 August BBC Wales ran a major news story covering Upstream Cymru. Llamau introduced Upstream to Wales as we believed youth homelessness could be prevented earlier. Inspired by internationally successful models in Canada, the USA and Australia, Llamau adapted the approach for Wales and created Upstream Cymru: a school-based early identification and intervention programme that helps identify young people and families at risk of homelessness or family breakdown before they reach crisis point.
The BBC news story includes interviews with Emily who undertook the Upstream Cymru survey, she explains how it works and how it has been of benefit to her. Yvonne Connelly, Llamau Operations Director is also featured. The BBC Wales website content can be seen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvg7l95jz49o
The BBC Wales TV content is available here:
Since launching Upstream Cymru in 2020, Llamau has led the innovation, development and scale-up of the model across Wales and the wider UK and Europe. Working with Cardiff University, local authorities, youth services and schools, we developed the first programme of its kind in Wales, the UK and Europe.
More than 22,000 young people have now been surveyed through Upstream, including 9,388 in Wales, giving us unprecedented insight into the early risk factors linked to youth homelessness and family breakdown. What began as a pioneering Welsh prevention model is now a scalable, data-driven solution with national reach, and Llamau has been at the heart of making that happen.
If you would like more information about Upstream Cymru, Llamau has produced a briefing document that you can download here: https://www.llamau.org.uk/news/upstream-cymru-briefing
