Take a look at the Executive Summary
Read the Full Report
New Horizon Youth Centre (NHYC) teamed up with London School of Economics (LSE) to find out what really happens when young people go to their local councils for housing support.
There were over 20,000 young people who went to their council as homeless in London last year. But estimates suggest only just over one third of these young people get a positive outcome. So what happens to the other two thirds? What barriers are there that mean so many young people don’t get the support they deserve? How can charities and councils work together to ensure fewer young people get left behind?
What we did
So Linda Hein, Impact and Learning Manager at NHYC, and a team of researchers at LSE, Laura Lane, Ellie Benton and Ruby Russell, came together to lead a project looking at how local authorities respond when young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness come to them for housing support, how young people feel about the support provided and what can be done to make the systems work better.
The researchers spoke with young people with experience of homelessness, housing leads from local authorities, a spokesperson from a Government department, voluntary sector and partnership organisations.
What are the recommendations?
Recommendations can be summarised into these four main actions that need to happen:
- Create a place for consolidated and centralised information for prevention and response to homelessness
- Make a Homelessness Code of Guidance for young people
- Increase targeted and appropriate support for 18-25 year olds
- Increase the supply of young people’s housing
Ensuring that young people have their voices heard and can access support that meets their needs, both in terms of housing, but also the other areas of their lives that enable them to live their lives to the fullest, is crucial.
At least don’t treat us like we’re some criminals or something, that we’ve done something wrong, at least listen to what we’re saying and not be against us. Be on our side … just listen to us.
Take a look at the Executive Summary
Read the Full Report
