Hidden obstacles? Some youth specific homeless policy issues Marike van Harskamp Homeless Link Plus Project Policy Forum on Young People 10 July 2019

Who we are A specialist partnership providing support to young people, aged 16-25, from across London who are homeless or at risk of homelessness Partners New Horizon Youth Centre, Depaul UK, Stonewall Housing, Galop, akt, Shelter Holistic approach accommodation access and provision prevention, advice and advocacy personal resilience - mental health, independent living, interpersonal skills employment and training

Impact 2017-19 What policy points arise in our delivery which: 1,269 young people into crisis accommodation 1,144 times supported into long term accommodation 664 safely reconciled with family 12,485 with increased knowledge of housing options 1,773 resolved benefit and financial hardship issues 2,868 improved mental health 2,076 with improved interpersonal skills 1,501 increased employability skills 1,039 obtained accredited training What policy points arise in our delivery which: are young people specific indicate a need for more joint-work and/or cross-departmental approaches

HRA – observations Background/scale Some of our experiences 12,200 young people presented at London boroughs as homeless (2017/18) > only 12% accepted as statutory homeless (Centrepoint 2018) > only 1 in 5 young people seek local authority help (GLA 2017) 225,000 young people in London have stayed in an unsafe place because they had nowhere safe to call home (Centrepoint 2016) H-CLIC data? Some of our experiences local variations – some really good practice/renewed attention U25s; but often overlooked effectiveness - lack of youth specific approaches, incl upstream work and delivery locations inconsistency - HRA assessment and personal housing plans safeguarding and risk issues – e.g. contacting excluders, serious youth violence Duty to Refer – need to expand? good practice - at JCPs especially

Funding Local authority funding cuts HRA – sustainable? National Audit Office (2018) Financial Sustainability of Local Authorities 2018 HRA – sustainable? £72m new burden funding. Estimated cost for London: £77m p/a 57% of LAs have insufficient funding to delivery HRA for young people alone (Centrepoint 2018) New funding streams U25s mostly overlooked (e.g. MHCLG Roughsleeping Strategy funding) housing-led? Adult social care -3% Children’s social care +3% Young people’s services -66% Arts development and support -41% Youth Justice -49% Road safety education -36% Sure Start -40% Library Services -33%

Specific areas of policy impact ACCOMMODATION WORK & INCOME SPECIFIC GROUPS/NEEDS Provision permanent loss bed spaces move-on accommodation age-appropriate leaving prison social housing Cross-borough reciprocals funding / procurement Local Housing Allowance LHA freeze Shared Accommodation Rate Universal Credit proof of ID 5 weeks’ waiting time Youth Obligation Income inequalities no National Living Wage higher risk of destitution 3x more likely precarious work Asylum-seekers/refugees/NRPF Section 20 presentations no recourse public funds legal support 16/17 yos identifying as trans safeguarding / joint-work Serious youth violence redefinition priority need Complex needs Young people leaving care

What else? GLA Mayor’s No Night Sleeping Rough youth sub-group London Housing Panel London Violence Reduction Unit Local authorities youth specific in Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategies joint-work reciprocals Government data cross-departmental approach longer funding cycles Spending Review

More info Marike van Harskamp marike.vanharskamp@nhyouthcentre.org.uk 020 7388 5560 londonyouthgateway.org.uk