Charity Centrepoint’s youth homelessness helpline hit 25,000 calls last month, less than five years after it launched.
The charity said the number of young people it supported increased sharply during the first lockdown last year and that high volume has persisted this year, with almost a quarter (23%) more calls since April this year compared to pre-pandemic levels (April to October 2019).
Calls to the Centrepoint Helpline, which was opened by the charity’s Patron HRH Prince William in February 2017, have decreased slightly when compared to the months from the first lockdown in March 2020 to April 2021, where volume spiked around local lockdowns.
More than 1 in 7 young people who said where they were spending the night were currently rough sleeping, while a staggering 2 in 5 calls were from young people regarded as ‘hidden homeless’, those forced to sofa surf even though it may have meant breaking social distancing rules.
Among those who shared their reason for homelessness, breakdown of family or romantic relationships were the main cause of homelessness for around 64 per cent of callers. Around 8 per cent were fleeing domestic abuse.
The statistics follows research from Centrepoint earlier this month that revealed that over 4,000 young people in London could be facing homelessness this Christmas, with a total of 29,000 young people expected to be facing homelessness across the country.
Paul Brocklehurst, Centrepoint Helpline Manager, said: “We are incredibly proud to have supported so many young people in crisis – but there is little to celebrate in reaching this huge number so quickly.
“The pandemic has supercharged some of the challenges young people are facing, both in terms of what’s driving youth homelessness and preventing those at the sharp end accessing accommodation and support. From what we’re seeing these challenges have not gone away, even as restrictions have lifted and the country gets back to ‘normal’.
“Lots of young people come to us because they don’t know where else to turn, have run out of safe places to stay or simply cannot navigate the support they’re entitled to. Without a proper youth homelessness strategy and focused investment there’s a real danger that the pandemic did not create a temporary increase in youth homelessness but set off a permanent trend.”
