Aimee is a passionate young rapper with cerebral palsy. After she became homeless, Centrepoint supported her with somewhere to live and staff to advocate for her. Aimee has just been offered her own ground floor flat that is adapted to her needs.
Across Centrepoint’s services, almost one in five young people were reported as being ready to move on but unable to do so, with a third of these having been ready to move on for longer than six months. This report seeks to identify the key barriers faced by young people looking to move on, in order to understand what needs to be done to help homeless young people ready to take the next step and move into stable longer term accommodation.
Young people experiencing homelessness, who are among society’s most vulnerable and isolated groups, face significant risks from criminal exploitation and serious youth violence. There is overlap between many of the factors understood to drive both youth violence and youth homelessness, such as poverty and exclusion, family breakdown, experiences leaving care and other state institutions, and difficulties with mental health and trauma. Homelessness can also increase young people’s exposure to violence and exploitation, whether in hostels, sofa surfing and in insecure accommodation, or sleeping rough.
Joe was supported by Centrepoint in Manchester on and off over a number of years, but it’s only recently that Joe has been ready to turn his life around. From sleeping in every doorway in Manchester City Centre, Joe is now in a stable place and looking forward to the future.g summary
A report based on the accounts of young people who have left the care system and have navigated their way through the complex systems and processes to find a place to call home.
A study which aims to provide a snapshot of the barriers that young people face when they are seeking safe and stable housing on release from custody. Considering these barriers alongside the wider policy context, we wanted to provide a renewed focus on this critical challenge and explore how we could collectively work together to provide practical solutions.
Georges became homeless in 2016 and was referred to Centrepoint through social services. He originally shared his story back in 2018, but five years after leaving Centrepoint, we spoke with Georges again to share his experiences and learnings.
Moving into your own place can be a scary prospect, particularly if you have had experience with homelessness. But what if there is no place to move into, and you are stuck for months or years in a homelessness hostel, when you just want to move on? This is the increasing reality for many young homeless people, resulting from a lack of social and private housing supply, soaring rents and benefit cuts.
Yasmina became homeless after fleeing abuse. She is now living in one of Centrepoint's Independent Living properties where she has been able to focus on her future.
Aysar became homeless after his family found out about a same-sex relationship. Centrepoint have supported Aysar with his mental health and finding employment. He hopes to move into his own accommodation soon.
