Research reports

Family breakdown is the main cause of youth homelessness. Our research shows that while conflict happens in all families and is triggered by similar topics, it is far more likely to escalate in households that are already facing multiple challenges. This can in turn lead to a young person being made to leave or choosing to leave home before they are ready to.

This research explores the barriers young people face in securing stable housing. Our 2023-24 Move On report is the first iteration of a multi-year research project exploring the accessibility and affordability of housing for young people who have experienced homelessness.

1 in 62 young people in the UK faced homelessness in 2023-24. The Youth Homelessness Databank once again underscores the critical importance of having robust and comprehensive data to fully understand the scale and nature of youth homelessness.

This report captures the first year of learning in a three-year evaluation of the initiative, drawing on interviews with 19 stakeholders and analysis of the first year of Upstream surveys.

This guide outlines key changes that employers can make to improve recruitment and employment practices and support homeless young people to access work.

Centrepoint’s 2022/23 Youth Homelessness Databank has found that more than a third of the young people who approached their local authority in England in 2022/23 were not assessed for eligibility.

Young people experiencing homelessness face unique barriers to employment including issues with the benefits system and a lack of local jobs. These barriers can mean that homeless young people are often unable to access employment, resulting in diminished self-confidence and limited resilience.

A vote to end youth homelessness - Centrepoint manifesto for the next General Election

This research examines how Government legislation is being, and may be, used to criminalise young people who are rough sleeping. In doing this, we examine Freedom of Information Request data delineating how the Vagrancy Act has affected young people and explore interview and survey data highlighting the extent to which young people are criminalised by measures such as Public Space Protection Orders. Through this lens, we then analyse the potential impact of the Criminal Justice Bill on young people experiencing homelessness.

This report explores homeless young people’s access to social and private rented accommodation using the following methods: a survey of front-line staff working for 30 organisations supporting over 800 young people across England; interviews with homeless young people and local authority staff; a comparison between social housing allocations and main housing duty rates (2021-22 & 2022-23) to show how local authorities are meeting homeless young people’s need for social housing; and an analysis of LHA rates.

This report presents an analysis of data collected by local authorities during the financial year 2022/2023, and examines the development of the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 (HRA) in its fifth year. It also updates the previous year’s findings, including Centrepoint’s estimate of the national scale of youth homelessness.

In supported housing, accommodation is provided alongside support, supervision or care to help people live as independently as possible in the community. Residents of supported housing include, for example, older people, people with disabilities, people fleeing domestic abuse, people with experience of the criminal justice system, people recovering from alcohol or drug addiction.