As recipients of the lowest amount of Universal Credit, young people have been left struggling to make ends meet for decades. When the weekly £20 uplift is removed at the end of this month, many vulnerable young people will be forced to compromise between food, bills or rent – an impossible choice that will make it even harder for homeless young people to move forward with their lives.
With over 600,000 shows and 62 million listeners, you could say podcasts are pretty popular - which is why we created our own. This National Podcasting Day, we’re taking a deep dive into one of our two fantastic Centrepoint podcasts, the youth-led Point Made.(Watch this space for the story of our mental health podcast, Centred.) Find out how we made it, why it was important, and discover the young people who helped make it such a passionate podcast.
Sunday 10 October 2021 marks the 11th World Homeless Day, originally established to recognise those working to end homelessness across the world. Since its inception in 2010, the day has represented the need to raise awareness of homelessness, support those who experience it, and fight for their futures.
More than 50% of the young people Centrepoint supports come from a Black, Asian and ethnic minority background. As such, our hope this Black History Month is to initiate conversations that will help foster a fully inclusive culture at Centrepoint. Here, Digital Campaigns and Mobilisation Officer, Pooja Singh, sheds light on the challenges of being young, Black and homeless, from the perspectives of Centrepoint’s frontline staff.
On the 9 and 10 October Centrepoint’s corporate partner, Dazed, invited its audiences to come behind the scenes at its HQ at 180 The Strand in London for DAZED LIVE, to mark their 30th anniversary. The two-day festival, aimed at 16- to 25-year-olds, focused on making and showcasing music, art, fashion, activism and more, all in aid of Centrepoint.
Our legal team make up a vital part of the service we offer young people at Centrepoint. For those seeking legal support, it can be incredibly difficult to attain without financial aid, and so many often go without. Centrepoint is here to help change that. Nabila, a legal administrator coming to the end of a secondment with the Legal Team, tells us about what she has learnt during her time with the department and the important service they provide.
Our legal team recently experienced a bittersweet victory: through years of hard work they managed to reclaim a huge backlog of benefits payments owed to a young person using Centrepoint’s services. A huge and monumental success, yes -but it certainly wasn’t an easy win.
Earlier this year, Ben Harris, 22, attempted to kayak solo the length of Lake Tanganika, the longest lake in the world. Despite some snags along the way, Ben managed to complete his mission and raised a whopping £12,000 for Centrepoint. Here, we speak to him about his incredible journey.
Most people know Jade Johnson as an Olympic track and field athlete; many may recognise her from her high-scoring Foxtrot on Strictly Come Dancing. But before Jade made it big, she spent a brief period as a homeless young person at 17. Here she tells us about her experience – and how it’s made her a stronger person.
Centrepoint’s goal is to help vulnerable young people become independent enough to live a good life that they can thrive in. And we are open to all homeless young people, regardless of their geographical circumstances. Whether they’ve been kicked out of their family home in London or have travelled to the UK as an unaccompanied minor, we’re here to help.
