We carry out research on the issues affecting homeless young people and develop the policy solutions needed to bring about change.
Building on Centrepoint's Move On 2024-25 report, this London deep dive explores what the findings look like across the capital, and examines the unique pressures shaping young people's journeys out of homelessness in London.
Our most recent Youth Homelessness Databank showed that in the final year 2024-2025, over a third of young people who presented to their local authority for support did not receive one.
This year’s Youth Homelessness Databank report presents analysis of data collected during the 2024-25 financial year and looks into the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act (HRA) in its seventh year.
Under the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, everyone in England approaching their local authority for help because they are homeless or at risk of homelessness is entitled to an assessment. Unfortunately, Centrepoint’s Databank research has found that this is not happening in practice, with only 67 percent of the young people who approached their local authority in England in the financial year 2023/24 receiving an assessment.
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.
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.
