Taking a survey in school saved me from homelessness

Something as innocuous as filling in a survey at school "changed the course" of Emily Mapley's life after her family was made homeless when she was 13.

Already being bullied and questioning her identity, she hid the fact she was sharing two rooms with six other family members for almost two years.

Then, a UK-first survey by Upstream Cymru led to the support she needed.

Based on a project in Australia that led to a 40% reduction in youth homelessness, it reached young people who may not have come across the radar of support services before.

Now, six years on, charity Llamau is warning a lack of long-term government support means Wales risks falling behind the rest of the UK.

At the same time as being evicted from her home, she was navigating changes in her identity and coming out as transgender.

For 18 months, her family of seven - including her parents and young niece - lived in temporary accommodation, squeezed into just two rooms.

"I don't even know if the school knew. I don't want to say embarrassed, but I didn't want anyone to know because I was already getting bullied."

When Emily moved to St Illtyd's Catholic High School in Cardiff, she completed the short survey, developed for Llamau by Cardiff University, which asked about pupil's relationships, mental health and living situation.

An algorithm then assesses the answers to identify students at risk of becoming homeless.

What sets the programme apart is its ability to find young people who are at risk of homelessness who are not known to authorities.

"I probably just ticked all the boxes of what Llamau could help with and what Upstream could help with," said Emily who, at the time was struggling with severe depression.

Not wanting to go to school or go out, her support worker Russell helped her, and she started going out once or twice a week.

"We would just do fun stuff and he helped me get out of my shell," she said.