This report investigates what happens to young people when they seek to access help because they are homeless or at risk of homelessness. How many young people are turned away with little or no support, how many access some help, how many are formally assessed to see if they qualify as ‘statutory’ or officially homeless? This is a complicated process punctuated with substantial confusion.
Freedom of Information requests (FOIs) made by Centrepoint show that at least 136,000 16-24 year-olds asked authorities in England and Wales for help because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness (based on 146 responses from councils).
The findings suggest councils are unable to cope with the volume of young people in need of support. In 2014, only 40 per cent of young people in England were given an assessment to find out whether they were eligible for emergency housing. In Wales, 60 per cent were assessed.
Without assessments in all cases, some of the most vulnerable could miss out on immediate housing support to which they are legally entitled, leaving them at risk.