Charities forced to reject homeless young people
Almost half of homelessness agencies are turning away young single homeless people because of a lack of resources, a study from charity Homeless Link has found.
According to the Young and homeless report, published today, nearly half of homelessness services and councils have seen an increase in young people seeking help because they are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless in the past year.
The report, which surveyed 79 homelessness charities and 108 local authorities, also found one in five local authorities felt they were not meeting their legal requirements for homeless young people aged 16-17, and half report using bed and breakfasts as emergency accommodation for young people, despite government guidelines which advise against their use.
More than 70 per cent of local authorities said they had no shared accommodation private sector provision for young people, despite this being the only option for young people on housing benefit; and 53 per cent of homeless agencies had experienced closures or threats of closure to youth services in their area.
The report also looked at the reasons for people becoming homeless, with services citing relationship breakdowns with family and friends as the number one cause.
The respondents said 62 per cent of young homeless clients they saw were not in education, employment or training, 46 per cent were in financial difficulties, and 26 per cent had experience of sleeping rough.
Jacqui McCluskey, director of policy and communications for Homeless Link, said: ‘With rising youth unemployment, a changing welfare system and many families struggling to get by, youth homelessness is likely to get worse. We can’t prevent the recession but we can limit the impact it is having on the next generation.
‘The longer someone doesn’t have a home, the more likely they are to develop complex problems and become trapped into a cycle of homelessness. If we don’t provide access to the right advice, help and support for young people now, we are potentially looking at a much bigger, and more expensive, problem in the future.’
The report calls on the government to make sure changes to the welfare system do not cause higher youth homelessness, and to protect Supported People funding which pays for housing related support.
