The Foyer housing model is a method of transitional housing for youth that evolved from temporary housing for laborers in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, foyers were used to provide accommodation for a movement of people from rural France to cities seeking work. The term "foyer" means ''
hearth
A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a low, partial ...
'' in French. They later developed to house migrant workers, primarily from Algeria, serving as a path to independent labor and accommodation.Dafne Accoroni. Islamic Integration and Social Wellbeing in Paris: The Soninké Foyer and the Mouride Brotherhood. Social Anthropology and ethnology. University College London, 2011. English.
The foyer model has evolved into a philosophy and housing program for supporting at risk young people focused on a supportive relationship between caregivers and residents. Implementations typically provide partially or fully subsidized housing and educational, vocational, or work opportunities, as well as counselling services.Anderson, I. and Quilgars, D. (1995). Foyers for Young People: Evaluation of a Pilot Project: York, Centre for Housing Policy.
In the late 1990s, youth homelessness and unemployment became a rising problem, and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
policymakers led by Sheila McKechnie proposed foyers as a combined solution, in an attempt to end the "no job no house, no house no job" cycle. Promising success in the United Kingdom sparked interest in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, leading to meta-studies of UK research and funding from the
Australian federal government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Executive (government), executive government of Australia, a federalism, federal Parliamentary system, parliamentary con ...
While the model began as a temporary form of housing for workers migrating to cities, most view the foyer model as a philosophical approach applied to concrete implementations of transitional housing.Adam Steen, David Mackensie. Financial Analysis of Foyer and Foyer-line Youth Housing Models. Swinburne University, Homelessness Research Collective, June The Foyer Federation an organization in the United Kingdom founded in 1992 to "innovate, champion service reform, and ensure the Foyer network can deliver the best quality offer for young people" defines the concept in a set of three promises:
# a safe, balanced community of 16-25 year olds in transition
# an integrated offer that covered housing, education, employment, and personal development skills
# a relationship that tailored a 'something-for-something' deal between the young person, service, and locality, on which the offer of accommodation depended
Anderson, I. and Quilgars, D., two researchers who studied the effectiveness of the initial U.K. foyers in the early 1990s described the foyer concept as an "integrated approach to meeting the needs of young people during their transition from dependence to independence by linking affordable accommodation to training and employment". In general, young people need varying degrees and types of aid while making the transition into adulthood, and foyers aim to provide that aid to disadvantaged and at-risk individuals who may not have an alternative support system or may have complex needs. Motivating reasons for homelessness programs to specifically target youth include that youth require different types and quantities of support, and homelessness as a young person can lead to long-term homelessness which may be more difficult to address systemically.
History and evolution
Post-war reconstruction in France
Following World War II, France was left in a thoroughly damaged state. Germany took an estimated 2.4 million French workers captive and destroyed over a million buildings, leaving over a million people homeless. With prisoners of war returning from Germany and a surge of young people migrating from rural to urban areas all seeking work, there was a serious lack of sufficient housing. It was increasingly clear that government intervention was necessary to provide aid to these its citizens. The French government responded by creating a
HLM
An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies.
HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France. Initially, construction of foyers was focused on the highest density area of young people, near Paris. Continuing through the 1960s and early 1970s, foyers continued to provide affordable housing for young people and other groups, such as migrants workers; however, they began to offer less comprehensive services such as social and educational opportunities. By the 1980s, foyers focusing on specific groups of people with specific needs began to develop, such as those focused on supporting migrant workers and troubled youth. While the housing was widely appreciated by supported groups, there was large criticism of foyers as limiting independence, with R. Lovett et al. reporting that many residing with FJT lamented that " ey want us to be responsible, but they give us few rights".
Housing for migrant workers
In addition to housing young workers emigrating from rural France to urban areas, foyers housed workers immigrating during the reconstruction period and the decades after. Some foyers that were designed specifically for migrants were essentially under military control; they generally had a central room which individual residences were built around to allow easy supervision. Over time, these foyers housed different waves of French immigrants, and have become their own socially-governed institutions. So long as criminal activity isn't occurring, they're generally safe from intervention from political figures or policing. Such foyers intended to house migrant workers are sometimes referred to, albeit derogatively, as foyer-''taudis''. These foyers aren't generally reflective of the scope or philosophy as the general foyer housing model, however they offer limited and similar affordances to migrant workers by acting as somewhat of a standard path for immigrants in achieving long-term employment and accommodation. Concerns have been raised of the marginalization of immigrants, especially those who are Black African, as one in 10 live in a foyer-type establishment, and make up a significant 2.4% of the French population.
Application to youth employment and accommodation
While foyers in France were largely a response to housing shortages post-WWII, the UK began introducing foyers much later, when various factors resulted in rising demand for affordable housing for young people without an appropriate rise in supply. With more and more work shifting from agricultural and manufacturing industries to the service industry, young people were required to leave their homes and find housing closer to where they were working on studying. Indeed, the increase in post-secondary education, such as community colleges, which don't provide dormitories for students also contributed to this large increase in demand for affordable housing. However, the government did not appropriately anticipate this growing need, and cuts to housing subsidies combined with an increase in housing rates without a comparative increase in wages for young workers dried up the available affordable housing.
Towards the end of the 20th century, poorly skilled young workers in the UK began having significant difficulty finding employment that would pay for the increasingly expensive housing. Government intervention seemed inevitable, as this was an issue spanning social, economic, and housing sectors, as well as increasing research and sentiment that a successful transition into adulthood was predicated on proper training, supportive employment, and affordable housing. Sheila McKechnie, while the director of housing at the UK Charity
Shelter
A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...
, proposed adopting the French foyer model to provide a joint solution to these intertwined issues the youth faced.
Evidence and outcomes
With the Foyer model growing in popularity in the U.K., groups in countries such as Australia are increasingly interested in evaluating whether the model is appropriate to implement. Many studies lament the lack of existing research, however Australian groups have published meta-studies on the existing literature, primarily that of the initial U.K. foyer projects.
An Australian report covering the financial viability of U.K. foyers found that the foyers typically charge a weekly fee. Some subsidize this fee within the foyer organization by staffing public facing businesses with foyer residents. The staff to resident ratio ranged from 1:6 to 1:20, and the bulk of the cost of the foyer was staff related. While most of the reported costs of the foyers On average, rent charged to residents covered less than 70% of the total costs with the rest covered by grants.
Organisations
Australia
* Foyer Foundation – an Australian-based organisation, founded in 2008, promoting a network of Youth Foyers in Australia and New Zealand.
* Foyer Oxford – located on Oxford Street in
Leederville, Western Australia
Leederville is a suburb within the City of Vincent in the Perth metropolitan region of Western Australia.
It is home to Aranmore Catholic College, the School of Isolated and Distance Education, North Metropolitan TAFE, Trinity Theological Colle ...
.
* Illawarra Youth Foyer Project – established by Southern Youth and Family Services and is jointly funded by the Australian federal government and the NSW government.
England
* Foyer Federation – a UK-based organisation, providing learning and accommodation centers for youth in the form of Youth Foyers.
* Stonham Bude Foyer – located in
Cornwall, England
Cornwall (; or ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the Engli ...
.
* Trident Foyer – founded in
Birmingham, England
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands region, in England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest cit ...
in 1997 by Trident Housing Association.
* Ravenhead Foyer – founded in
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens () is a town in Merseyside, England, with a population of 117,308. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens which had a population of 183,200 at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 Census.
The town i ...
in 1997 by the former Grosvenor Housing Association (Now known a Your Housing Group .
Scotland
* Aberdeen Foyer – established in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...
in 1995 in response to youth homelessness and unemployment issues.
United States
* Chelsea Foyer – located in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and run by Good Shepherd Services.
* Covenant House – located in more than 30 locations in North America and run by
Covenant House
Covenant House is a large, 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization in the Americas, whose goal is to provide safe housing and holistic care to youth ages 16–21 experiencing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking. Covenant House was ...
, the largest privately funded charity focused on supporting homeless youth.