Upstream UK Partnership

The Upstream UK Partnership is a pioneering four nation collaboration tackling youth homelessness through prevention rather than crisis response. Chaired by Llamau and supported by Centrepoint, The Rock Trust, and MACS NI, the partnership brings together the UK’s leading youth homelessness organisations to design, deliver and scale a shared early intervention model with collective leadership and accountability. Its core aim is to prevent youth homelessness by identifying risk early and supporting young people and families before crisis takes hold.

Operating across Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the partnership addresses the leading cause of youth homelessness: family and relationship breakdown. Through a universal, school-based screening approach, Upstream consistently uncovers hidden risk that traditional referral-led systems miss, enabling earlier and fairer access to support. Identified young people and families are offered tailored, relationship-centred interventions focused on strengthening communication and stabilising homes.

Since launching in a single Welsh school in 2020, the partnership has responsibly scaled Upstream to 37 schools across the UK, demonstrating that prevention can be delivered consistently at national scale and across diverse policy environments. Outcomes are strong and measurable: 98% of young people supported have remained safely at home, and 85% of families have achieved improved wellbeing outcomes. Independent evaluation confirms Upstream’s unique ability to identify unmet need.

The partnership is driving system change by aligning four nations around shared governance and learning. By replacing fragmentation with collaboration, the Upstream UK Partnership is helping to make prevention the norm, not the exception, in efforts to end youth homelessness.