Charities call on Government to create national strategy to end youth homelessness

Nationwide, 129,000 people under the age of 25 at risk of homelessness have asked their local council for help. Credit: PA Images

100 charities across the UK are joining forces to urge the government to create a national plan to stop youth homelessness.

The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity and Greater Manchester Better Outcomes Partnership (GMBOP) are among 100 youth and homelessness charities across the UK coming together.

According to official figures from 2021-22, around 4,200 young people under 25 years old who are living in Greater Manchester were registered as being owed a ‘prevention duty’ – a duty to help prevent them becoming homeless.  

It is estimated that 129,000 people under the age of 25 have asked their local council for help nationwide.

4200 young people under 25 in Greater Manchester were registered as being owed a ‘prevention duty’ last year alone.. Credit: PA Images

Some of the charities have said that the young people who have approached their charities for help haven’t contacted their local council for support – masking the true number of the ‘hidden homeless’ sofa surfing between friends or even risking a night on the streets.

The charities also say that younger people are bearing the brunt of a ‘perfect storm’ of factors, with the effects of the pandemic and Cost of Living Crisis disproportionately affecting the young and further increasing the risk of homelessness.

Greater Manchester Mayor and Patron of Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, Andy Burnham, said:  “We want Greater Manchester to be one of the best places in the world to grow up, get on and get old.

"Our children and young people should have the best start in life, and they should not be in fear of homelessness."

The Greater Manchester Mayor said the Homelessness Prevention Strategy has been co-produced with people who have experienced homelessness first hand.

He continued: "I recognise the distinctiveness of that experience for young people.

"We invested in the Greater Manchester Better Outcomes Partnership to help stop youth homelessness, and that’s why I am pleased to support this campaign for a national strategy.”

"Hidden homelessness" relates to people who may be considered homeless but whose housing situation is not "visible" in official statistics. Credit: PA Images

Programme Director at Greater Manchester Better Outcomes Partnership (GMBOP) Rachel O’Connor said:

“Our work provides vital support to young people at risk of homelessness, helping them to stabilise their accommodation whilst building the confidence, resilience and skills to avoid long-term homelessness.

"At GMBOP, we understand the value of learning from the experiences and voices of young people, using these to continually inform how we work.

"So we’re pleased to be a part of this campaign, alongside other experts in the field, to call for a national strategy – a strategy which will champion young people and their experiences and prioritise a compelling, nationwide approach to end youth homelessness.”

The collection of charities are also calling for candidates in future elections to make a manifesto pledge to explicitly tackle youth homelessness.

What are effective solutions to tackling homelessness?

  • Prevention: support young people to avoid reaching a homelessness crisis point in the first place

  • Housing: establish better, safer and more accessible options for supporting and identifying those facing homelessness

  • Finances: ensure fairer pay and resources are available to empower young people to build successful, independent lives. 

Dr Fran Darlington-Pollock, Head of Strategic Development for Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity said:

"It is about learning from the huge amount of experience on the front line that these charities have and saying, while we may never know the true extent of how many of our young people face homelessness, but we do know both what the consequences are, and what the solutions must be.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said:

“We are giving councils across Greater Manchester more than £20 million over the next two years to prevent homelessness – this can be used to work with landlords to prevent evictions, provide temporary accommodation or find new housing.

 “Young people face particular housing challenges which is why we launched the Single Homelessness Accommodation Programme,  a new fund which will deliver up to 2,400 homes across the country. This is specifically targeted at young people and adults with complex needs who are at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping. This is on top of £2 million to fund youth services for those sleeping rough and all part of our £2 billion investment to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping.”