Research reports

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.

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.

Through this research we wanted to provide an economic justification for the money spent on supporting homeless young people and show the enormous benefits that can be generated.

Our report shows that when homeless young people are ready to move on and live independently, they’re being held back by the housing crisis. We are calling on the government to build more safe and affordable housing to break the cycle of homelessness and provide young people with safety and stability.

To end youth homelessness, we need to know how many people experience homelessness and what happens to them when they seek help. Our Youth Homelessness Databank brings together all the information available to build the clearest picture possible, and estimates that 129,000 young people in the United Kingdom approached their council for help during the financial year 2021/22.

In 2019, the London Borough of Haringey commissioned Centrepoint to establish and deliver a two year Housing First for Care Leavers pilot project. The University of York was commissioned by Centrepoint to undertake an independent evaluation of the early stage of the project. Through this, the evaluation found that housing first can act as an important means through which care leavers sustain tenancies and lead meaningful lives.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Since the UK went into its first lockdown in March 2020, the Government has channelled funding of over £700 million to help prevent homelessness and provide emergency accommodation for rough  sleepers as part of the Everyone In scheme.

This report highlights the state of youth homelessness during and beyond the pandemic and is based on a survey of English councils, analysis of Centrepoint’s Helpline data, and interviews with local authority and Centrepoint staff.

This research report explores the growing number of young people sleeping rough during the pandemic and evaluates the support that is available to them.

The Centrepoint Youth Homelessness Databank significantly increases the information that is publicly accessible on youth homelessness by collecting council level data to build a more informed national understanding of the problem. This report presents an analysis of data collected by local authorities in 2018/19, which was the first year of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA).

For the past five decades Centrepoint has supported homeless young people to turn their lives around. In 2019, no young person should find themselves homeless yet we are supporting more young people than ever through our accommodation services and national Helpline.

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.