Warnings after care leavers face rise in homelessness

Young people leaving care in England face a steeper rise in homelessness compared to the general population, latest figures show.

It comes after warnings that young people leaving care face a “devastating care cliff”, where they will lose support when they turn 18 and leave care, as well as difficulties with unemployment.

England’s Children’s Commissioner Rachel De Souza told the BBC she was concerned the government was not giving those leaving the system adequate long-term support.

The government said it was committed to taking “bold action” to address homelessness.

The number of households with young people between 18 and 20 years old threatened with becoming homeless in the last year increased by 9% compared to the previous year, and those who were already homeless and owed a support obligation grew by 6%.

In England, on average among the general population, people threatened with homelessness increased by 0.3% and homelessness increased by 1%.

There continues a trend of homelessness among younger people leaving care and which, according to activists, is getting worse.

Figures from last year show that the number of homeless people among households with young care leavers in England rose by 21%, compared to around 12% overall.

One-third of people who leave the foster care system become homeless within the first two years of leaving the foster care system.

Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern said: “Everyone deserves a roof over their head, but these figures show too many people are at risk.

“We are tackling the worst forms of homelessness and the figures show we are reducing the worst forms of temporary accommodation with continued reductions in B&B use.”

He pointed to the government’s Homelessness Strategy, saying the government was providing £1bn for social housing and £39bn for affordable housing.

The Conservatives have been contacted for comment.

Kerrie Portman has been homeless several times since leaving care when she turned 18.

The 27-year-old was cared for as a teenager and had already become homeless while in the care of her mother, who struggled with addiction.

Kerrie was in and out of temporary and supported accommodation and children’s homes, where she says she experienced “severe abuse”.

He secured a place to study at Cambridge University but, struggling to cope with a lack of support, dropped out and found himself sleeping rough and doing squats.

“It was incredibly scary, incredibly traumatic and damaging,” he says.

“I didn’t have any kind of safety net, so I didn’t have any family to fall back on… being a woman, it was obviously [also] more risk.”

Kerrie took long buses to avoid the streets, stayed at McDonalds or slept in public bathrooms to try to stay safe, but she still couldn’t escape violent and abusive situations.

She says that when it comes to applying for jobs, she is often fired for not having enough experience.

“I’ve never had the stability to be able to focus on work experience and that kind of stuff, because when I’ve been chronically homeless I’ve just focused on surviving.”

He is now completing an Open University course, his third attempt to continue his studies in higher education, and has been supported to find a suitable long-term home.

But she fears for other young people who have had similar experiences dealing with life after leaving care and the difficulties they face.

“All the negative outcomes are increasing. And the more disadvantaged a person is, the more disadvantages they carry.”

While local authorities are legally obliged to provide some support to those who leave the system at the age of 18, campaigners say the lack of a safety net in terms of family, accommodation and other factors makes them more vulnerable.

Clare Bracey, Director of Policy, Campaigns and Communications at the charity Become, said the status quo was “unacceptable”.

“No child who leaves foster care should be left homeless. At age 18, they face a devastating chasm where life-saving support disappears and they are expected to become independent overnight.”

Figures show that 40% of young people leaving care in England, aged 19 to 21, are not in education, work or training (known as NEETs), compared to 15% of all young people in that category.

The government is concerned about the number of young people in this situation and says the Youth Guarantee Scheme, which will offer paid work or apprenticeships to prevent long-term unemployment among young people, will help those who have experienced care.

But there are calls from Labor MPs to maintain some benefits for care leavers that the government has not committed to maintaining as part of upcoming social reforms.

Last month, the education select committee called on the government not to cut the health element of Universal Credit for young people leaving care as part of upcoming welfare reforms.

The government said no decisions have been made.

Children’s Commissioner Rachel De Souza said the State was acting as a parent for care leavers, so issues such as housing and benefits needed priority.

“I think we have to try very hard,” he said.

“I’m not confident… because Westminster is not very good at thinking about the long-term realities of young people’s lives when the solutions are not easy.”

It has called for housing priority to be given to the 50,000 to 60,000 young people aged 17 to 21 who leave care, and for benefits to reflect the fact that a person leaving care needs to settle into a home and pay the bills.

Labor MP John Whitby has fostered 26 children over two decades.

He has been lobbying ministers to consider giving younger people the same rate of Universal Credit that those over 25 receive, pointing out that they would have the same obligations as an older applicant.

But he also said he was concerned about the lack of available foster parents.

“Obviously, children who have been in care don’t do as well as normal children, but the longer they are in foster care, the better they do…something we’ve always tried to think about with the children who live with us is sort of an aspirational element,” she said.

He said he hoped some recent pilot projects being carried out as part of the Schools and Child Welfare Bill, boosting the support network for care leavers to remain in accommodation and education, would be rolled out across the country.

“If the basic things are in place then they won’t be evicted, then they can focus on the things they need to do, which is getting their education, training, job or whatever, much more aspirational things.

“You have to have the basics in place.”