CLNM Peer Evaluation 2023

Posted 31st October 2023

NHP have had a range of evaluations since becoming a Charity in 2018, most recently by Cambridge University and Warwick Business School. Whilst these evaluations have both been hugely positive, it is also important for us to hear directly from young people as to whether House Projects are working for them.

CLNM Peer Evaluations look at various elements of ORCHIDS, our Practice Framework. In 2021 the first Peer Evaluation focused on Responsibility, Community, Interdependence and Direction. In 2022 we worked on the recommendations and have taken action to address all of these. The one outstanding action is to support young people to design a bespoke mental health and emotional and wellbeing offer. We haven’t yet secured funding to enable us to do this but continue to apply for funds.

This year’s Peer Evaluation focused on Ownership, Home, and Sense of Wellbeing. Young people worked closely with Matthew Walsham from Partnership for Young London and were trained as Peer Evaluators. As a result, they fully understood and were immersed in the process. The Evaluation took the form of participatory action research which works well for CLNM because it involves participants and researchers working together to change something for the better. The evaluation captured the views and experiences of 147 young people. This included 381 minutes of interview time across 32 different interviews, alongside 115 surveys being completed.

The findings were overwhelmingly positive with most young people saying that they would recommend the House Project to other young people. They felt supported by facilitators and listened to and involved in decision making. They saw their mental health improve, made friends, and felt prepared and ready to move into their own home.

As always, however, young people want to improve things for the wider and future House Project community. Their skilful interviewing found that as well as the very positive findings, there were also things that we needed to work on, and made the following recommendations:

• No Conversation About Me Without Me – this recommendation related specifically to formulations and safety plans. The evaluation found that whilst many young people contributed to their formulation and safety plan, this wasn’t consistent across Local House Projects (LHP).
• Good Mental Health for All – whilst most young people agreed that being part of a LHP had improved their mental health, improving access to different levels of support would provide an even better offer to young people.
• A Community Beyond Moving In – young people would like support to maintain the friendships and connections they made as part of the House Project.
• Local Opportunities for LHPs – as well as being part of the House Project community young people would like more support to become part of their local community, once they have moved into their home.  

NHP and CLNM will work together over the next year to address the recommendations listed above.