Youth Concern’s opinion sought on government’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 

On Tuesday 11th November our CEO Hannah Asquith met Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness ,and CEOs from national and local homelessness charities to discuss the direction of the government’s imminent homelessness strategy. 

On behalf of the nine homeless 18-25 year olds who live with us at the Next Step Project, and c.30 young people who speak to our Drop-in Centre team for housing related advice or advocacy every month, Hannah asked the Minister to ensure the new strategy includes a specific Youth Homeless Chapter.  

Why?

Because…

  • Last year, 118,000 16-25 year olds presented to their local authorities as homeless or at risk of homelessness. Since many homeless young people are hidden, they’re not represented in the data, so we suspect this figure is probably much higher.  
  • Over half of adult rough sleepers first experienced homelessness under the age of 25 – which is why targeting support at under 25s is one of the most effective ways to prevent long-term homelessness and reduce pressure on public services.  

(Did you know the annual cost of youth homelessness amounts to £8.5bn, according to Centrepoint?) 

How did we ask the Minister to ensure the strategy isn’t age blind? By asking that it supports and makes funding provision for youth homelessness prevention programmes like Upstream. Upstream: 

  • works in secondary schools to identify young people who are at hidden risk of homelessness 
  • it draws inspiration from successful models in Australia, Scotland and Wales 
  • it’s currently operating in a small number of secondary schools in England 
  • and crucially it works in partnership with local organisations to deliver tailored interventions  

By prioritising early intervention and local partnership support, the programme aims to break the cycle of youth homelessness for the next generation. 

Our youth panel hosted the Minister’s visit to our Drop-in Centre last year,  The Minister praised Youth Concern for our ‘incredible work to support YP, providing vital services to help them build a brighter future.’  

On 11th November, our CEO reminded the Minister that brighter futures need funding. September 2025’s National Youth Sector Census ‘Snapshot’  reported youth organisations facing soaring demand for a) mental health support, b) violence prevention and c) young people seeking the support of a trusted adult. That’s certainly our experience at Youth Concern. 

And at the same time, whilst 84% youth services report increasing demand, 33% of those same services are at risk of closure within 6 months due to rising costs and falling budgets. 

(For example, local authority funding for youth services in England & Wales has decreased in real terms by £1.1bn since 2010/11.) 

So as youth services close, for a vulnerably housed young person without a trusted adult at home or school or work, we asked the Minister – who do they turn to for help?  

And that was our concluding request: asking the Minister to help us take the next step in our youth homelessness prevention journey by ringfencing money for Upstream roll out to support young people at risk of homelessness in Buckinghamshire. 

Pictured above at the event our CEO Hannah with Balbir Kaur Chatrik,  Director of Policy and Prevention at Centrepoint.