In the early 1990s a handful of people concerned with the crisis of homelessness and joblessness among the young started the Foyer movement in Britain. They were influenced by the experience of their equivalents in France and Germany who had developed what the French call Foyers de Jeunes Travailleurs as an ‘integrated approach to meeting the needs of young people during their transition from dependence to independence by linking affordable accommodation to training and employment’.

By 1997 there were 46 Foyers operating in the UK with a further 32 due to open during the year and a similar number being planned. This report looks first at the historical context, and at the situation in Germany and France, and then describes the growth and experience of the Foyer movement in Britain. It is essential reading for anyone interested in this exciting new model of hope for young people.

Colin Ward’s many books tend to explore the relationship between people and their environment. He is the author of such key books as The Child in the City (1977), Tenants Take Over (1974) and, more recently, Reflected in Water: A crisis of social responsibility (1997), and wrote the Gulbenkian Foundation’s report New Town, Home Town: the lessons of experience (1993). He was awarded an honorary doctorate at Middlesex University in 1994 and was appointed as a visiting centennial professor at the London School of Economics in 1996.