For over 50 years, Centrepoint has supported homeless young people to access stable housing, gain skills and employment and achieve their goals. In doing this, Centrepoint has witnessed the human cost of homelessness, and seen how it affects young people who, through no fault of their own, have limited or no access to safe and secure accommodation.
Through Centrepoint’s direct work with young people, we recognize their incredible potential. However, too often the barriers created by homelessness make it harder for them to achieve their goals.
In this way, homeless young people regularly have few options but to access costly public services and support from third sector organisations as a means of promoting their independence.
In our latest research report, Human Costs and Lost Potential: The Real Cost of Youth Homelessness, we tried to estimate the true cost of the crisis affecting thousands of young people.
Our findings
Overall, we estimated that the total annual cost of homeless young people amounts to £8.5billion, an average of £27,347 for each young homeless person, equivalent to the average salary of a police officer.
£8.5bn - the total annual cost of youth homelessness
| Cost | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|
| £5.5bn | 64.8% | Output loss due to Inactivity/Unemployment |
| £846m | 9.9% | Criminal justice |
| £492.6m | 5.8% | Homelessness services |
| £478.1m | 5.6% | Lower productivity |
| £473m | 5.5% | Social security |
| £456.1m | 5.3% | NHS health services |
| £140.9m | 1.7% | Mental health services |
| £124.5m | 1.5% | Substance misuse services |
