The BBC recently reported that there has been a 33% increase of care leaver households aged 18-20 assessed as homeless, or threatened with homelessness.
While the government has said it is spending £2bn to tackle homelessness, care leavers have long faced challenges regarding homelessness.
In 2020, The Guardian released shocking figures that showed that 1 in 4 care leavers faced homelessness by their 18th birthday.
In the same year, charity Step by Step reported that it had seen a huge increase in care leavers referred to its Supported Lodgings service which places young people with host families. 39% of the young people the scheme places are care leavers – that was up from 23% in 2019.
While Christmas can be a challenging time for care leavers, there are some incredible charities supporting young care experienced people to overcome homelessness at Christmas and beyond.
Centrepoint
129,000 young people approached their local authority for help in 2021-22. That’s one young person becoming homeless every four minutes.
The youth homelessness charity has more than 350 staff across the country. The Centrepoint team work tirelessly every day to support young people experiencing homelessness to find a job and a home. They offer dedicated resources for care leavers on their website.
St Mungo’s
Both a charity and housing association, St Mungo’s supports people who are sleeping rough, living in hostels and at risk of homelessness. They support care leavers and young people to move away from sleeping rough by offering mental health, skills and employment support.
Shelter
Shelter helps millions of people struggling with homelessness every year. Shelter provides free housing advice for young people aged 18-25, including benefits and leaving care information. They also offer dedicated resources for care leavers on their website.
Step by Step
Step by Step support young people who are going through hard times, including homelessness. They provide accommodation, personal development opportunities and specialist support services to empower young people and prevent homelessness.
St Basils
St Basils works with young people and care leavers to enable them to find, and keep a home. They aim to work with young people to grow their confidence, develop their skills, increase opportunities and prevent homelessness. https://stbasils.org.uk/