New stats revealed this morning that 3,107 people had been sleeping rough in London, from January to March this year, a 14% increase of the same quarter the previous year.
Around one in ten (8%) of those seen sleeping rough are young people. 257 young people had been seen sleeping rough in Oct-Dec 2022, representing just over 8% of the total number of people seen rough sleeping in London – and 11% increase on last year.
Balbir Kaur Chatrik, Director of Policy and Communications at Centrepoint, said:
“There continues to be far too many people forced to sleep rough in London and today’s release shows things are heading in the wrong direction. This is not a situation unique to the capital, so it’s clear that we need to see much more of a response from central government.
“The number of young people seen sleeping rough remains steady overall – but is still far too high. The reasons seem pretty clear from the calls to our Helpline. Every day we hear from young people spiralling into financial hardship and homelessness because of rising rents, bills and the cost of other essentials. The most vulnerable of these young people have no safety net and nowhere to go, so it’s vital they get the support they need before they have no choice but to sleep rough.
“Overall, these sort of increases make it look very difficult for the government to reach its target of ending rough sleeping by 2024 and the human cost of that failure is quite profound. Reversing the trend won’t be easy but it is clear what needs to be done. We urgently need to see more investment in emergency accommodation and move on options and greater support for local authorities struggling to find homes for people.
