Trusted Professional Multi-Agency Transitions for Young People Facing Multiple Disadvantage – Learning from Co-Production by a Third Sector Partner in the Plymouth Alliance, UK

Introduction: This case study provides practice-based reflections on challenges and potential solutions for young people with multiple disadvantages across housing, substance misuse, mental health, criminal justice, and domestic abuse systems, informed by 4 local principles: trauma informed, learning based, an alliance commissioning ethos, and workforce development.

Description: To improve the current experiences of 17–25-year-olds in service transition iterative insights drew from networking staff across sectors, clinical audit and following live cases, and appreciative enquiries with young people. This was conducted by a practitioner researcher in a local Young Person’s charity and was supported by peer researchers with lived experience and embedded researchers-in-residence.

Discussion: This describes the scale of the challenge where compound need and intersectional disadvantage, wider determinants, complex pathways, and public and third sector service systems collide. Relational practices were tested to support navigating system challenges, better tailor to young people’s abilities and needs and improve integrated care partnership working and workforce development.

Conclusion: Plymouth has a history of integration with the Alliance for Complex Needs. Context and localised solutions matter for integrating care, yet remain underreported especially for underserved, and marginalised young people and using whole systems approaches co-produced with the third sector. Investment into academia-practice partnerships is crucial to make learning portable.