Family and Natural Supports Framework

  • Service Delivery
  • Youth Homelessness

Family and Natural Supports Framework

This framework introduces and provides an overview of Family and Natural Supports (FNS), a preventive approach to addressing youth homelessness. FNS is a key component of a larger systemic shift in responses to homelessness, away from emergency service provision and instead toward the prevention of youth homelessness. This framework explains FNS, its core principles and guiding philosophy, presents considerations for implementing FNS in communities, and provides case examples of what this work can look like in practice. It also addresses the need for early interventions (including Family and Natural Supports) and the compelling reasons to shift to prevention as the new prevailing response to youth homelessness. (42 pp)