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Is sofa surfing is becoming the norm for modern childhoods?

Exclusive research published today from Become shows over 4,300 young care leavers are facing homelessness – an increase of 54% within the last five years.

To conduct their study, Become – the national charity for children in care and care leavers – analysed government data of young care leavers aged between 18-20. What they found can be described as nothing short of harrowing.

grayscale photo of a girl in garden

The findings include:

  • Since 2022 the increase in young care leavers facing homelessness has skyrocketed by 27%.
  • The number of young care leavers aged 18-20 who are homeless has increased by 54% over the last five years.
  • 4,300 care leavers aged 18-20 were assessed as homeless in the last year – up from 2,790 in 2018-19.
  • 15% of care leavers within the age bracket assessed as homeless were based in the North West of England, 15% in the South West and 14% in the South East.
  • The number of care leavers facing life on the streets has risen more than twice as fast as the overall number of homeless households, and 15 times faster than the overall number of young people facing homelessness.

Upsettingly, these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. Become have also outlined that beyond these statistics are many more who are hidden homeless, sofa surfing or rough sleeping, unaware of what support and entitlements are available to them.  

Katherine Sacks-Jones, CEO of Become, said: ‘The stark reality of more care leavers becoming homeless is that society is failing these young people. Each year, thousands of children move out of their foster or children’s homes at the age of 18, sometimes younger, and are forced to become independent overnight. Many young people are sofa surfing, living in hostels or unsuitable accommodation where they don’t feel safe, struggling to stay afloat with little support.

‘But this can be fixed, homelessness can be avoided. The government pledged last week to remove the local connection test for care levers, which is a good start, but it must now End the Care Cliff, prioritise social housing for young people leaving care and make sure they have the support they need to make a positive start to adulthood.’

With these statistics in mind, Become is now calling on the government to end the care cliff by making support schemes, such as Staying Put, fully funded. What’s more, the charity are also asking for authorities to make all care leavers a priority for social housing up to the age of 25, and exempt care leavers from homelessness intentionality rules, which can deem a young person has made themselves homeless as a result of financial strain or choosing to leave their accommodation.

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Emily Whitehouse
Writer and journalist for Newstart Magazine, Social Care Today and Air Quality News.

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