Goodbye Cardboard City. That's the slogan of London's Gateway project, which claims to be the first in Britain to pioneer the quite brilliant idea of providing accommodation and job training for homeless young people under one roof.
The idea itself is not new. As Ms Angela Brady, a Dublin-born architect now working in London explained, it started in France during the 1930s when young women at risk were taken into what were called "foyer" projects, which provided both housing and job training.
Since the concept was first introduced to Britain in the early 1990s, it has mushroomed into an unstoppable movement. From the initial five pilot projects, based in YMCAs, there are now 60, with as many more under construction or at the planning stage.
The UK foyers include one in Belfast, and there are plans to establish the first such venture in the Republic, in the Liberties area of Dublin. Community leaders and corporation officials who visited some of the London projects last week could certainly see the potential.
Ms Brady, whose firm is involved in designing the Dublin foyer project, firmly believes that the concept offers a "fantastic opportunity" to break the cycle of homelessness, alienation and despair which has too often turned young people at risk into drug addicts and petty criminals.
Mr John Brennan, director of the London Irish Cara Housing Association, which is helping with the Dublin scheme, said foyers "can't solve all the problems of the universe", but they could give homeless young people the support they needed to become independent.
This fits in with the philosophy of "self-help" now being promoted by the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, as an alternative to the hopeless situation of jobless and homeless young people living in night-shelters on state benefit.
Mr Brennan explained that young people entering a foyer project must agree to participate in the training courses it offers. "If they don't, they're out," he said.
The objective is to provide previously alienated young people with the social skills and life skills they need to become independent. After spending up to 12 months in a foyer, they graduate to semi-independent "moving on" accommodation and, ultimately, a home of their own.
The first foyers in Britain were set up with financial aid from the Grand Met Trust and Shelter, the housing agency. The British government's housing corporation was also supportive, and foyers are now being pushed by housing associations and local authorities.
In order to qualify for entry to a foyer project, young people - usually aged between 16 and 24 - must be jobless and homeless, or at least in acute housing need. Few if any have been "sleeping rough": in most cases, they are in hostels or "kipping" on the floors of friends' flats.
Every foyer resident pays about £73 a week for a self-contained flat or bed-sit, of which £67 comes from unemployment or housing benefits. Training and vocational courses take place in the basement, with guidance also given on how to compile a CV for job applications.
The Salters City Foyer, near London's Smithfield Market, opened last June in an impressive art nouveau building owned by the Salters, one of the city's old livery companies. It accommodates 44 residents, including some refugees who spend much of their time learning English.
The reception desk is staffed 24 hours a day and serves as a point of contact, since all the residents must hand in their keys there. Links have been established with local colleges, and the emphasis is very much on training and education.
If the residents are motivated, the foyer can almost guarantee they will get jobs at the end of their stay. That means they can afford to find their own accommodation and begin to live independently as useful members of society.