Poll reveals 18% of young people have slept rough in past year

By The Press Association6th November 2014News EnglandHomelessness, News England, Young People / Youth Work, Youth Work

Nearly a fifth of young people in the UK have slept rough in the past year, according to a poll by a youth homelessness charity.

It revealed that 18% of the 2,000 16 to 25-year-olds questioned had slept in an unsafe place, including on the streets, in cars and on night buses, because they had nowhere else to stay.

Two in five (42%) young people with experience of rough sleeping in the last year said they spent one night doing so, with 33% saying they spent between one night and a week sleeping rough, the ComRes poll for Centrepoint found.

The charity said the poll gives the first ever national picture of the scale of rough sleeping among young people.

With 15,000 young people facing homelessness this Christmas, Centrepoint will launch its Christmas appeal tomorrow.

The charity says young homeless people are twice as likely to die as their peers, and they are asking people to donate in a bid to help to save a young person’s life this Christmas.

Meanwhile tonight, across the country, Sleep Out, Centrepoint’s annual initiative will take place, seeing thousands of people braving the winter weather to raise funds and awareness.

Sleep Out raises money to help provide homeless young people with a warm bed, mental health support and help into education, training and employment.

In London, where the number of under-25s forced to sleep rough has more than doubled since 2011, there will be two events – at West India Quay and the Old Truman Brewery.

Centrepoint’s chief executive, Seyi Obakin, said: “Currently the Government does not track the number of 18 to 25-year-olds rough sleeping nationally. Our poll proves the issue of young people sleeping rough is huge and nobody else is giving an accurate picture of the problem.

“The Government’s only data on rough sleeping does not break down by age and is limited to estimates and a one-night snapshot survey.

“From this it’s impossible to ensure that vital support services for homeless young people are available in the right place at the right time.

“Christmas is often regarded as the worst time of year for the homeless, yet sadly, as our poll highlights, this is a problem our young people face throughout the year.

“Homelessness is killing young people and 80,000 young people across the UK are faced with this each year. We know that homeless young people are twice as likely to die as their peers, which is why we urgently need help to get them off the streets.”

Minister for homelessness, Kris Hopkins, said: “The numbers of people sleeping rough are falling dramatically, in no small part thanks to the range of measures we’ve taken to maintain strong support for anyone facing the threat of homelessness.

“That includes £500 million funding to councils and charities, and extending the No Second Night Out with the clear aim that no-one should spend more than one night on our streets.”