MACS celebrates national partnership award for preventing youth homelessness

MACS is proud to be part of an award-winning partnership tackling youth homelessness before it reaches crisis point, after Upstream UK won the Homeless Link Excellence Award for Best Partnership.

MACS delivers the programme across Northern Ireland alongside partners Llamau, Centrepoint and The Rock Trust, helping identify young people at risk early, strengthen family relationships and prevent homelessness before it happens.

The award recognises the impact of the four-nation initiative, which has grown from a single school in Wales to 37 schools across the UK in just over four years, demonstrating how early intervention can transform outcomes for young people and their families.

Upstream UK is chaired by Llamau and delivered in partnership with Centrepoint, The Rock Trust and MACS. Working across Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the programme helps identify risk early, strengthen family relationships and prevent homelessness long before a young person reaches crisis.

The initiative draws inspiration from the Geelong Project in Australia and operates within secondary schools across the UK, using a universal screening tool to identify hidden risk early, often before a young person reaches crisis or concerns become visible to school staff. The programme then works in partnership with local organisations to provide tailored support, including family mediation, health and wellbeing services and homelessness prevention education.

In just over four years, Upstream UK has expanded from one school in Wales to 37 schools across all four nations while maintaining a consistent, evidence-led approach to preventing youth homelessness.

Across the UK, 98% of young people supported through Upstream have remained safely at home, while 85% of families have achieved personal wellbeing goals, including improved communication, reduced conflict and stronger family relationships.

Trina Harpur, Head of Floating Support and Outreach at MACS, said:

“Winning this award is a huge honour and a testament to what can be achieved when organisations come together with a shared purpose. Upstream is proving that by identifying challenges early and providing the right support at the right time, we can prevent many young people from ever reaching crisis point.

We are incredibly proud that Northern Ireland has played a key role in demonstrating the impact of this preventative approach. Through collaboration with schools, families and our partners across the UK, we are helping young people build stronger relationships, improve their wellbeing and create brighter, more secure futures before homelessness becomes a reality.”

Yvonne Connolly, Chair of Upstream UK, said:

“This award is recognition of what is possible when organisations work together around a shared commitment to end youth homelessness. Upstream UK is helping shift the focus away from crisis response to earlier, targeted intervention, giving young people and their families support before problems escalate.”

Seyi Obakin OBE, Chief Executive of Centrepoint, said:

“We are proud to be part of a partnership that is showing what national collaboration can achieve. By working together across systems and places, we can identify hidden need earlier and help change young people’s trajectories before homelessness takes hold.”

Alistair MacDermid, Head of Services at The Rock Trust, said:

“This award means a great deal to everyone who has worked on Upstream across all four nations. What Llamau, Centrepoint, MACS and The Rock Trust have built together isn’t just a programme running in parallel in different places; it’s one shared model, one evidence base and one set of standards. This allows it to be effective, scalable and delivered consistently across Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.

“The results speak for themselves. Across the UK, 98% of young people supported through Upstream have remained safely at home. That’s what happens when you stop waiting for young people to reach crisis and start reaching them where they are – in school – before things fall apart.”

About Upstream UK

Upstream UK is a four-nation partnership focused on preventing youth homelessness through earlier identification and intervention. Chaired by Llamau and delivered in partnership with Centrepoint, The Rock Trust and MACS, the programme works with schools and local services to identify hidden risk, strengthen family relationships and prevent homelessness before crisis occurs.