Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced a new package of measures to help reduce and prevent youth homelessness. More than a third of new cases of homelessness last year were young people aged under 25 years. Just under a quarter of people who became homeless over that period were forced to leave their last home because parents were no longer willing to accommodate them.
The measures announced include:
A new partnership with YMCA England and Centrepoint to deliver a National Youth Homelessness scheme, including developing a network of supported lodgings schemes across England and ensuring young people have access to them. This will provide short-term respite support to young people, giving them a place to stay whilst they work through problems and increase the chances they can return to the family home.
Setting up a committee of formerly homeless young people, who will advise ministers directly on policy by sharing their experience and concerns.
Establishing a new Centre of Excellence in every region where those councils that have already made good progress in tackling youth homelessness will share expertise with neighbouring councils and agencies. This will aim to step up prevention by making mediation services between guardians and young people more available, as well as increase expertise available throughout the country.
A new National Homelessness Advice Service is also being launched in partnership with Shelter and the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). This will give everyone across the country the opportunity to access homelessness advice, to prevent their family from becoming homeless, through trained advisers at CABs.
The minister also launched 'Foundations for Life,' a new project between Centrepoint and LandAid. It is a new venture that will see the transformation of hostels into learning centres that will provide young homeless people with opportunities for work and training opportunities.
New cases of homelessness are continuing to fall. They are nearly 20% down on this time last year. National statistics show that 17,310 new households became homeless during October to December last year. This compares to a recent peak of 35,770 acceptances just three years earlier.
The statistics also show the number of households in temporary accommodation has dipped below 90,000 for the first time since 2003, at 89,510 households.
Local Authorities have been allocated £47.2m in homelessness grants for this year, and voluntary organisations have been allocated £16m for homelessness prevention work.
