People Involved: Phil Mundy

Partners: Creative North

URLs related to this project: www.creativenorth.co.uk/

Where is the need for this project?

In 2005, a third of Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing’s contracts with young tenants ended in abandonment, eviction or prison. This is a common problem across the country.

Where do you hope this project can go?

Kirklees Neighbourhood Housing worked with Creative North, a games-developing social enterprise to develop a mobile phone game to help young people think about the challenges of sustaining a tenancy. The game allows the player to manage their own virtual home and learn about personal finance, education and employment in a fun and engaging way. In the process, they develop more realistic expectations of tenancy, and principles of the game can be emphasised in conversation by housing association staff. Where traditional engagement strategies have failed, Kirklees are adamant that the game has made a significant different to young people’s attitudes to their tenancies. Creative North are now looking to extend the use of this game, and have already won further work with fellow Next Practice Project, Timebank, to develop other games to engage young people.