The number of young people seen rough sleeping in London over the past year has decreased.
Between April 25 and April 26, 1291, young people aged 25 and under slept rough in the capital – an 8.5% decrease from the previous year. The number of care leavers also decreased with 667 people seen rough sleeping in 25/26, compared to 721 in 24/25.
However, Centrepoint says that falling levels of young people found sleeping on the streets likely masks the true scale of youth homelessness in the capital.
Research from its Youth Homelessness Databank found 17,000 young people presented as homeless or at risk of homelessness to their local authorities in 24/25.
And while they’re from different financial years, it does show London’s homelessness problem stretches far beyond those sleeping on the streets.
Lisa Doyle, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said: “As one of the most dangerous types of homelessness, it’s undeniably good news to see it decrease – but we must remember the rough sleeping is only part of the picture.
“For every young rough sleeper in London, there are many more young people without somewhere safe to stay. They too have been failed by the system and mustn’t be forgotten about when discussing homelessness in London and beyond.
“These decreases hint at what can be achieved when funding and strategy is matched with the political will needed to end rough sleeping. That said, programmes and funding targeting rough sleepers can only do so much.
“We’ll only stop young people ending up on the streets if central government commits to a significant programme of building one-bedroom social homes. Without this, too many young people will continue to be denied the opportunity to escape homelessness and move forward with their lives.”
Overall, there were 12,938 sleeping on the capital’s street during the past year, a 2% decrease from 24/25 when 13,231 slept rough.
This data is derived from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), a multi-agency database funded by the Greater London Authority (GLA), records information about rough sleepers and the wider street population in London.
