New Project Board appointed for Youth Housing service

A new Project Board has been appointed to help United Welsh and Llamau deliver an exciting project that will co-produce a new model of housing for and with young people.

The Youth Housing Choices project is being developed and delivered by United Welsh and Llamau with Welsh Government Innovation Funding.

Through this project, we will work alongside young people to design communities and accommodation specifically for youth housing, supporting young people to develop skills and make progress emotionally and cognitively in a safe environment.

Following recruitment in the summer, we are pleased to welcome the following members to the Project Board:

Craig Stephenson

Craig enjoyed a 38 year career in the civil service after joining the Welsh Office in 1981 and transferring to Cardiff Bay in 1999 to help establish the National Assembly for Wales (Senedd Cymru, the Welsh Parliament).

Craig was Senior Private Secretary to the Education Minister in Welsh Government and later became Chief Adviser to the Presiding Officer at the Senedd before becoming the Director of Engagement.

He left the Senedd in September 2019 and has since been appointed to the Employment Tribunal (England and Wales) as a non-legal member.

Craig is a board Member of Tai Pawb; Chair of South Wales Gay Men’s Chorus and Deputy Chair of LGBTQymru, which created the first ever Wales-wide Virtual Pride in July 2020.

Craig’s pronouns are he / him.

Jennifer Lyttleton-Smith

Dr Jen Lyttleton-Smith is a researcher specialising in care-experienced childhoods, co-production, and wellbeing. A sociologist by background, she was awarded her PhD in 2015 for her study of gender and early childhood.

Jen works in the CASCADE Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre within the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences and currently holds a Health and Care Research Wales Post-Doctoral Fellowship to examine the use of co-productive approaches with children in Welsh care and the impact on their well-being.

She also co-leads the Evaluation of the Social Services and Well-Being (Wales) Act 2014 with responsibility for assessing the impact of the Act on people who need care and support. Her work is driven by a passionate belief in the value of listening to children and young people on the issues that affect them and in centralising their views in decision-making.

Having grown up in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Jen now lives in North Cardiff and aspires to make a meaningful contribution to her local community, and further afield in Wales.

Jen’s pronouns are she / her.

Sue Revell

Sue Revell is on a mission to inspire leaders to think, dream and be bigger in their mission to make a difference. With 30 years experience, both in coaching and in leading change, Sue coaches leaders who want to achieve confidence, impact and fulfilment in leading change, making a difference, and leading a life that matters.

Sue works internationally with leaders in the political arena and in the private and public sector. Her extensive leadership experience spans healthcare management, strategic planning and complex project management and delivery.

She is a guest lecturer with Cardiff Business School and Glyndwr University, and over the last ten years has held Non-Executive/Board Member roles within the Pobl Group and the Chartered Management Institute in Wales.

Sue is inspired by this project because of the opportunities to work with young people to co-create a new and different approach.

Sue’s pronouns are she / her.

Hugh Russell

Hugh is an enthusiastic advocate for improving young people’s access to housing that is suitable, affordable and sustainable.

Currently the Project Manager for End Youth Homelessness Cymru, a coalition led by Llamau, Hugh has overseen work on LGBTQ+ young people’s experiences of homelessness, on links between the care system and homelessness, and is involved in a number of exciting new approaches including Housing First for Youth and Upstream Cymru.

Hugh holds an MSc in Housing and has over a decade’s experience of working in housing and homelessness with Community Housing Cymru and Llamau prior.

He is also a board member of TGP Cymru, a Welsh charity which advocates for young people in the care system.

Hugh is passionate about promoting active travel, a huge music fan and a keen runner. He is also trying to teach himself the piano and apologises profusely to the neighbours!

Hugh’s pronouns are he / him.

Alan Inman-Ward

Alan is currently a senior member of the management team at Active Gloucestershire as Head of Insight and Intelligence; a charity tackling health inequality through helping more people get active and enjoy the benefits of a healthier and active life.

Having previously worked at Charter Housing for five years as Tenant Insight Manager, Alan helped to improve governance, minimise the negative impact of welfare reform, and worked closely with other housing associations and organisations such as Housemark, OCSI and Housing Partners to learn, share and develop insight.

Alan was born and raised in East Sussex and moved to Wales in 1996 to study the trombone at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. He is a keen runner and cyclist, having taken part in numerous marathons and triathlons.

Alan’s pronouns are he / him.

The core elements of the new Youth Housing Choices project are that it is co-produced with young people and will:

• Be located in places that young people want to live
• Be priced at sub-market rents
• Support young people as part of the wider community
• Use an easy and straightforward application process
• Provide a responsible, safe and flexible landlord for young people
• Provide a psychologically-informed environment with support and guidance based on Housing First for Youth principles of support and engagement
• Not reinvent an existing model of supported accommodation.

Craig, Jen, Sue, Hugh and Alan join Amanda Oliver, Project Manager at United Welsh; Karen Tipple, Deputy Director for Specialist Housing, Support and Wellbeing for United Welsh and Kirsty Ellis, Director of Business Development for Llamau on the Project Board.