Skills for the Job: Tackling youth homelessness

What are the different types of homelessness?

Homelessness means different things to different people. The government definition only really covers rough sleeping, but we would argue that "hidden homelessness", such as sofa-surfing or moving from one house to another, should be included. There has also been talk in the sector about whether or not to consider people in over-crowded homes, or substandard housing as "homeless".

How many young people are homeless?

Official government figures on statutory homelessness show that there are around 20,000 people of all ages affected, but this only covers those who meet the definition of homelessness based on strict criteria. From research we have done, we estimate that around 80,000 under-25s alone experience homelessness each year. It is very difficult to get precise figures though because local authorities no longer have to collect a range of information on homelessness for national indicators. What is clear is that rough sleeping in London has increased and we believe that the national figure for young people experiencing homelessness each year could now be above the 80,000 mark.