Centrepoint reveals spike in demand for support during lockdowns

The charity’s A Year Like No Other report looks at youth unemployment, homelessness, poverty and mental health, and assesses the impact of the government’s policy interventions during the pandemic.

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It reveals that calls to the Centrepoint helpline increased by 33 per cent during the pandemic, compared to the previous year and more than doubled some months. 

“Spikes in call volume often followed the introduction of local or national lockdown restrictions, suggesting these measures put more young people at risk of homelessness,” the report states.

The proportion of callers who were out of work increased by 11 percentage points from 46 per cent in 2019/20 to 57 per cent in 2020/21. 

More than a quarter (27 per cent) of young people who contacted the helpline disclosed a personal history of being in care - an increase of eight percentage points on the previous year.

Meanwhile, the report also shows a 40 per cent increase in demand for Centrepoint mental health services since the first lockdown and a 276 per cent increase in young people accessing emergency food support, which includes food parcels and vouchers.

Alongside the statistical breakdown of calls, the report also provides insight from interviews with helpline workers and others reflecting on 12 months on the frontline. 

Workers highlighted the apparent disparities in support available to young people sleeping rough, with those in certain areas unable to access support.

One young pregnant mother at risk of homelessness told helpline workers that she was initially refused help by her council and told there was “nothing they could do for me until I had a written letter from my mum stating that she is kicking me out”.

Centrepoint’s helpline manager Paul Brocklehurst said: “The pandemic has made worse the enormous struggle young people were already facing to access the emergency support they need when they need it.

“The fact is that too many young people facing homelessness are dismissed by councils, who can demand they ‘prove’ their homelessness by sleeping rough or potentially put at further risk in all-age accommodation. This shouldn’t be happening under any circumstances, but particularly during a pandemic.

“The drive to get rough sleepers off the streets during the first national lockdown showed what can be achieved when the political will is there to end rough sleeping. That said, even with a properly resourced and well-targeted intervention like that, the number of calls to our helpline from young people in crisis, increased.

"If the government is serious about ending rough sleeping and tackling homelessness it needs a long-term plan for investment that includes ring-fenced money for youth-specific accommodation and services.”