How can we end youth homelessness altogether?

Last year, despite government claims of record investment in tackling homelessness, nearly 122,000 16- to  25-year-olds approached their local council because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Urgent action is needed as the cost-of-living crisis is set to heap further pressure on these vulnerable young people. It’s not enough to simply manage youth homelessness. We must end it altogether. That is why – during Centrepoint’s National Youth Homelessness Conference last week – we launched a sector-wide consultation into ending youth homelessness.

We’re calling on charities, public bodies, councils, academics, campaign groups, and people with lived experience, to join us in a national conversation. One that sets out what steps we need to take to ensure that the next generation does not face the same risks of homelessness and housing insecurity that too many young people do today.

We know that ending youth homelessness will require a government commitment to meaningful, systemic and lasting change. This will be no mean feat, but we believe there are several key policy changes that can be done right now to help us on our way.

One of them being a social security system that works for young people.

While additional funds have been made available by the government through schemes like the Household Support Fund, we’re concerned these aren’t reaching young people or providing them with sufficient support.

One answer is to ensure Universal Credit matches inflation. However, welfare reforms over the years have meant that young people – who face more difficulties when it comes to finding and sustaining suitable accommodation – also receive lower entitlements. So adjusting for inflation alone will not solve the problem.

That’s why we are calling for an additional payment for claimants under 25 which brings their entitlement in line with the rate over 25s receive. Young people are facing the same living costs as older claimants, so it's nonsensical for them to receive a lower rate of Universal Credit.

Another way we can achieve our goal is through good quality, affordable, safe housing for every young person facing homelessness. Housing that is truly affordable on the wages that young people can earn, or is fully covered by the benefits that they receive.

This will require a radical new approach to housing and involve central government, councils, charities and other organisations working together to provide a range of affordable homes at every stage of a young person’s journey.

This includes youth-specific accommodation for young people in crisis, and accessible move-on housing.

Above all else, we need to work together to ensure that the trauma and disruption of homelessness is prevented in the first place. Prevention is key to any strategy to reduce youth homelessness, and it requires a meaningful commitment from the government to protect vulnerable young people. That means government investment in the support and specialist health services that can prevent a challenging childhood turning into a lifetime of exclusion.

The government has made prevention a priority as well as enhanced previous funding streams into the Homelessness Prevention Grant. However, the effectiveness has been hamstrung by over a decade of reduced investment and cuts to homelessness budgets, even as homelessness and rough sleeping has continued to rise.

These changes will have an enormous impact if they’re rolled out promptly and effectively, but will they be enough? We need to show the government that the sector is serious about seeing an end to youth homelessness. We must come together to loudly make the case for meaningful change. One of the first steps is an open, national conversation about youth homelessness.

If you want to find out more about Centrepoint’s mission and how you can get involved in the consultation, read the scoping report here: centrepoint.org.uk/media/5247/eyh-campaign-scoping-report.pdf

Alicia Walker is head of policy, research and campaigns at Centrepoint