‘Co-producing the physical spaces in a Psychologically Informed Environment — Changing the Story for homeless young people in Manchester’…

22.01.2021: As I reflect on this week as the Lead for Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) at the national youth homeless charity Centrepoint, my thoughts have returned to the importance of the physical environment upon our psychological well-being. Once again, for those of us that can, we have been asked to #stayathome to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate in the UK. Consequently, the physical environment that we are living and working in, has become increasingly relevant to our mental state. This relationship between the built environment and our psychological well-being has been known for many years, even Winston Churchill famously stated nearly 100 years ago; “we shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us”. More recently, Keats et al (2012) note in their key PIE paper (c.f. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/340022/1/Good%2520practice%2520guide%2520-%2520%2520Psychologically%2520informed%2520services%2520for%2520homeless%2520people%2520.pdf) ‘designing and managing the social environment is central to developing a psychologically informed service. Thoughtful design, preferable one with service user input, based on thinking though the intentions behind a service, can result in useful changes in the way a building is used, and how it is valued by staff and clients’ (p.17).

There is lots of evidence that suggests that our psychological wellbeing is effected by our physical environment, particularly within homeless or ‘clinical’ services (e.g. Berens, 2017: http://designresourcesforhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/FINAL1_8_2017.pdf). For example, Bishop (2011) noted that artwork in a hospital environment reduced young peoples’ stress by creating an atmosphere of welcome and comfort, and reduced the identity of the building as a ‘clinical’ service, a finding also found by Karnik et al (2014). In addition, Dijkstara et al (2008) found that indoor plants had a stress reducing effect in a healthcare environment. Moreover, Vischer (2007) found that a positive physical environment also influenced staff job performance by reducing their stress levels.

However, designing interiors for homeless facilities can be challenging as the service users may be diverse, and their needs and issues can be varied. Past experiences of trauma, institutional contact, mental illness or substance use can all effect how a particular individual may respond to their physical environment (i.e. the ‘person-environment fit’: Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010). Moreover, a space needs to work for the needs of not just the homeless young people accessing the space, but also the staff and volunteers that work in it. There is evidence for example, that the physical environment can impact on staff retention, stress and psychological well-being (c.f. World Building Council Report: https://www.ukgbc.org/sites/default/files/Health%2520Wellbeing%2520and%2520Productivity%2520in%2520Offices%2520-%2520The%2520next%2520chapter%2520for%2520green%2520building%2520Full%2520Report_0.pdf).

Consequently, there are many aspects of the physical environment that should be considered in order to promote health, well-being and competence (Cowen, 1994). These can include, but are not limited to, space planning / internal layouts to ensure the space can function as needed (e.g. flexibility, safety and confidentiality), noise levels, materiality (e.g. fixtures, furnishings and equipment), lighting (e.g. balance between daylight and artificial), colour, design details and accessories (e.g. art, signage), air quality/ventilation, appropriate thermal temperature, storage (e.g. lockers), and connection to nature (e.g. plants). Moreover, Codinhoto et al (2008) specifically defined four factors, which influence health outcomes. These were ergonomics (e.g. dimensions, shape and layout of the environment), fabrics and ambient factors (e.g. materials, lighting, acoustics, temperature and humidity), art and aesthetics (e.g. colour, design) and services (e.g. maintenance, cleanliness). Well-designed spaces are also important because evidence suggests that they can also influence and reduce risks such as the likelihood of aggression (e.g. Ulrich et al, 2018).

Therefore, it can be worth reflecting for a moment as you read this blog, wherever you may be, whether the physical environment you are living in or working in considers the above factors and meets these ideals? Are there small, perhaps quick and easy changes you can make to your workspace, or living area that might affect your psychological well-being at the moment? If you are working ‘frontline’ in a Centrepoint supported accommodation service, can you contact the PIE Team to discuss this and access some funding to make these changes to improve conditions for you, your staff team and the homeless young people you are supporting? If you are working at home in our ‘support teams’, can you adjust your space to improve your work-life boundaries and improve your psychological well-being in order to cope with this ongoing ‘new way of working’? Personally, I have developed a minor obsession with indoor plants in recent months, which has been my way of connecting with nature when I have not been able to leave London (or home) and improve my day-to-day view, air quality and consequently, my psychological well-being!

This week in particular, the physical environment has also been forefront in my mind because I have been involved in various meetings related to the development of our Manchester services in Oldham Street. The Oldham Street building is Centrepoint’s delivery ‘hub’ for all of our services in Manchester (e.g. Rough Sleepers Team, Homeless Prevention Service, Floating Support Service and the Health Team), many of whose amazing staff have been facing significant challenges over the past year to continue to support homeless young people. Not only have they had to adapt their practice and deal with increased demands for support as a result of COVID-19, but they have also been ‘homeless’ themselves as the building they were operating from, needed significant structural and cosmetic repair. As well as offering remote reflective practice sessions to the Manchester teams over the past year, I have also had the pleasure of being involved from a PIE perspective, in the renovation project to improve the building and therefore improve the delivery of our offer to homeless young people in Manchester. This is a major project for the organisation and a great opportunity to create a psychologically informed, welcoming, affirming, ‘safe’, and ‘secure’ space for local young people to seek help and support. However, significant challenges remain not only in completing the construction work during a global pandemic but also in raising all of the funds needed (c.f. you can support the project by contributing here: www.centrepoint.org.uk/futurefoundations).

The specific highlight of my work this week on this project has been attending a remote workshop (due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions) to co-produce the physical environment in Oldham Street with some young people that use this service. The workshop was very kindly facilitated pro bono by interior designer Daniella Bird from Space Positive (c.f. www.spacepositive.co.uk) and Dee Anne Donalds (Senior Activities Officer, Centrepoint Manchester), who both did an amazing job in supporting and encouraging the young people attending to share their thoughts, feelings and views about the space. During the workshop, there were three activities that the young people engaged in that began the process of redesigning the space. The first looked at the existing building in Oldham Street, exploring what did work and what did not from the perspective of a young homeless person accessing the space, perhaps for the first time when they feel vulnerable and anxious or when attending for a regular appointment. This explored everything from the layout of the space to their emotional connection to it (i.e. how it made them feel), and whether importantly from a PIE perspective it made them feel ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable’ especially when they may have come to the building from a vulnerable or traumatic situation.

The session then involved creating a ‘journey map’ about how a young person may move around the space in the future (i.e. what activities they may be attending in the service), to consider what the building needed to be to meet the needs of those that are using it. It was particularly interesting to consider our ‘senses’ in this task (i.e. what we see, smell, touch/texture and hear), and how this affects our psychological well-being when we enter the space. Prior to the session, young people attending were provided with a pack of materials, including floor plans, sample materials, colours and magazines, which were utilised within the session to generate ideas for the spaces in the future. All ideas were welcomed and encouraged, and as the session progressed and the young people’s confidence increased, they were able to share many of their suggestions and the session overran significantly as the young people once asked were bursting with ideas! The next step from the workshop is to combine the ideas to generate the design principles moving forward. This will enable the development of the future interior design work streams (e.g. photography, choices of textiles, decoration including a possible mural in the main communal space, objects, other ideas for the spaces), which again are planned to involve the young people.

Importantly, because ‘co-production’ should be a process with two-way benefits, the session was not just about Centrepoint getting the opinions of young people, but also aimed to give those attending an opportunity to learn about and gain experience of the design process and working with an interior designer, in order to further develop their interest and experience for a possible career in art and design. Of note, those that attended the session reported that even the process and opportunity of ‘co-producing’ the space was useful, as they felt valued that their opinion was being ‘heard’ and it built their personal confidence, self-esteem and sense of purpose. This is particularly important for homeless young people to feel ‘done with’ as opposed to ‘done to’, as their ‘voice’ has perhaps traditionally been neglected or ignored in the development and design of the very services set up to support them, which can reduce their willingness to engage with them in the longer term.

On reflection, I felt privileged to be able to listen in to this workshop and observe the co-production process in action. The young people were very honest about what did and did not work in the space in the past, and their ideas about what would make the space welcoming, safe and secure for future homeless young people in Manchester who need to access the Oldham Street service. Moreover, it was also positive to hear that whilst they currently felt that the building was not a pleasant space that they wished to attend in its current form, they did so because they knew that they the staff inside were ‘helpful’ and ‘welcoming’, and they looked forward to meeting their keyworkers, again highlighting the powerful impact of building therapeutic ‘relationships’ in homeless services. I was also relieved that the young people in the workshop confirmed some of my previous ideas around what makes a physical environment welcoming and positive. For example, positive quotes on the walls, calming colour choices and natural materials, storage ideas, the need for art to brighten the space and lift negative moods, furniture or textiles to be comfortable, quiet ‘chill out’ spaces or sensory rooms, and opportunities to grow plants or connect with nature to encourage a healthy lifestyle.

However, I was challenged further by some of their ideas, which I had not perhaps considered previously in my discussions about what is important to create a positive physical environment. For example, their comments about the power of music to create connections and build relationships (e.g. the request for a piano in the communal space), a networking board to post messages to other young people, and the availability of de-stress objects or fidget toys in the reception area when waiting for an appointment. Consequently, this workshop was a powerful reminder that the process of ‘co-production’ is an ongoing journey, and it is important to not assume we know what homeless young people might actually want and need from their physical environment. Therefore, I am very much looking forward to the next session, to see how our Manchester journey continues over 2021, and seeing how we can continue to shape our spaces to that they will have a positive impact on the staff and homeless young people that utilise them…