‘Our chance to save a starfish? …’

06.12.19: This week, it has been hard to ignore all the General Election coverage as we approach a pre-Christmas election next week. Whilst in previous blogs I have avoided the subject of politics, this week it seems appropriate to reflect on this, as it is dominating current discourse, and to consider what Clinical Psychologists and even a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) might comment on the subject. Of course, it is not my place to argue how you might vote next Thursday; however, all I would note is the importance of using our voice to vote upon the future of our country. I would also make a plea to consider the issue of homelessness amongst young people as well as the wider housing and social crises in this country in your decision making before you place that ‘X’ in the box.

This week, as the leading national charity working with homeless young people aged 16–25 years, Centrepoint joined with other homeless charities at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to stage a hustings for representatives from all the major political parties to question them on their housing policy (c.f. see here for the debate: https://www.architecture.com/knowledge-and-resources/knowledge-landing-page/national-housing-hustings-at-riba). Given all the promises and pledges of those in power, or wishing to gain power, it is worth however remembering the fact that over the past decade, there has been a sharp rise in homelessness (c.f. https://www.homeless.org.uk/sites/default/files/site-attachments/Homeless%20Link%20-%20analysis%20of%20rough%20sleeping%20statistics%20for%20England%202018.pdf) and many charities are arguing for an urgent need to build more social housing (e.g. https://news.sky.com/story/homeless-households-in-england-rise-by-more-than-75-in-last-decade-11807899).

There are also rising concerns about the large number of young people that are facing homelessness this Christmas (e.g. https://centrepoint.org.uk/what-we-do/the-22-000/) as well as the number of children (and families) in temporary, inadequate or insecure housing (e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/03/at-least-135000-children-in-britain-will-be-homeless-at-christmas). Whilst charities such as Centrepoint have acknowledged the difficulties for young people in moving on to appropriate independent accommodation (e.g. https://centrepoint.org.uk/media/3048/ready-to-move-on.pdf), and are themselves developing new ‘affordable’ housing units for homeless young people (c.f. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/10/modular-homes-endorsed-prince-william-built-charity-end-youth/), the demand for appropriate and affordable housing so far out strips supply that a national Governmental response (in addition to what individual charities are providing) is also arguably called for over the next five years.

Moreover, although housing is indeed a national crisis, PIE would argue that having a ‘roof over your head’ is only the first step. Keats et al (2012) in the PIE Good Practice Guide note that many of the individuals that homelessness services work with have additional challenges (e.g. mental health difficulties and past traumatic experiences, substance use, unemployment, contact with the criminal justice system). Consequently, wider policies in this election than housing will also affect homeless young people. As someone who has spent the majority of their career working with severely disadvantaged individuals in the National Health Service (NHS), I have seen the impact of austerity and cuts to health and social care, that whilst impacting all of us to some degree, do disproportionately impact upon the most vulnerable in society (e.g. https://www-cdn.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/file_attachments/cs-true-cost-austerity-inequality-uk-120913-en_0.pdf). Only this week when facilitating a Reflective Practice session with Housing and Support staff within one of our London services, the discussion at times centred on staff’s frustration with the current social care and health system(s). Specifically, staff reported their sense of powerlessness to help those homeless young people within their care at times, and how they wished they could ‘do more’ and #changethestory but were ‘stuck’ working with the structural challenges of the current system.

Clinical Psychologists have traditionally been silent on the subject of the wider system they operate within, however this is changing through the positive work of Psychologists for Social Change: PSC (previously Psychologists against Austerity: http://www.psychchange.org/). I believe that Clinical Psychologists, especially those of us working within PIE’s in the homeless sector, do have a duty to speak out about what we see and what we know, to provide information to others so that they can make informed and evidence based decisions. We have a duty, from our position of relative privilege, to advocate and be the voice of the powerless. For example, there is now plenty of evidence of the damaging impact of current and recent social policies (e.g. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Laura_Mcgrath/publication/322918554_The_Psychological_Impact_of_Austerity_A_Briefing_Paper/links/5a75f017a6fdccbb3c07a59d/The-Psychological-Impact-of-Austerity-A-Briefing-Paper.pdf), and a PIE would argue that we need to use evidence to inform our future decision making; ‘There is not a great mystique about evaluation: it is the opportunity to know which things you do or say are effective, in what situations and with whom. It is an opportunity for staff and clients to learn’ (c.f. Keats et al, 2012; p26).

Consequently, this election, Psychologists for Social Change (PSC) have provided a ‘psychological manifesto’ (c.f. http://www.psychchange.org/psc-manifesto-2019.html). This psychologically informed document argues that; ‘mental health is not something that exists inside individuals and for which each individual is responsible. Instead we think that each person’s emotional wellbeing is something that is produced socially. We all have a responsibility as a community to look after each other. We know that austerity and rising wealth inequality have had a devastating impact on the mental health and emotional wellbeing of people in this country. To start to heal the damage we need to do more than just provide individual solutions but also work towards creating a society together that causes less emotional harm to its citizens’.

Although sometimes the need for change, especially wider system change, can feel overwhelming, this week I was also reminded of the ‘Starfish Story’ (c.f. ‘The Star Thrower’: Loren Eiseley). This is a tale of a young child that was walking along the beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When they came to each starfish, they picked it up and threw it back in the ocean. After they had been doing this for some time, a man approached them and said; “Why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish, you can’t begin to make a difference!” Although initially crushed by the man’s words, the young child however did not give up. They picked up another starfish and threw it as far as they could into the ocean. Then they looked up at the man and replied, “Well I made a difference to that one!” The man thought about what they said and then joined the young child in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were eventually saved.

Consequently, when talking to the staff in the reflective practice group this week, we were able to reflect that we can only do the best we can in the circumstances, and hope that others also join in the challenge to make changes. We are all a valuable part of bigger organisation of Centrepoint (and our partners) all working together to put an end to youth homelessness. Moreover, we do have an opportunity next week to consider the future direction of our country, and I would argue that we should endeavour to be psychologically informed (or evidence based) when we cast our vote. Every voice matters and counts, and those who are less fortunate than us, such as the homeless young people that Centrepoint works with, need us to consider them when we are exercising our democratic rights. As Psychologists for Social Change have argued, the best ‘therapy’ of all is ‘equality’ — doesn’t everyone in our society deserve a chance to reach their potential? After all, it starts with us just picking up one starfish and casting that vote …