Young adult care leavers are nine times more likely to become homeless than their peers, a charity has said, calling on the government to find an end to the “appalling” situation.
Become, the national charity for children in care and young care leavers, analysed government figures and population estimates and said the group is at risk of falling off a “care cliff” as they reach adulthood.
In a report published today, the group found that approximately 9.13% of care leavers aged 18-25 were statutorily assessed as being homeless or facing homelessness last year.
In contrast, an estimated 0.97% of non-care-experienced young people aged 18-24 were found to be either homeless or at risk of homelessness in the same period.
The charity also said in its report that while some areas showed “excellent practice”, it had seen “really worrying examples” of young people feeling forced to leave social care before they were ready to find housing.
It said that in some local authorities “the priority given to care leavers was greatest at the point of them leaving care and taking up their first tenancy”.
“Given the likelihood of care leavers securing social housing in some local authorities reduces as they get older, the importance of providing appropriate, secure and affordable housing when they first leave care becomes even more critical,” the report added.
Become’s chief executive Katharine Sacks-Jones said it is “appalling that thousands of care leavers are forced to leave their home at the age of 18, sometimes younger, without the family support that many of us take for granted”.
“No young person leaving care should have to live in unsafe accommodation or be left homeless – but that is the reality for many right now, compounding the trauma they’ve experienced in the past,” she added.
“But this can be fixed. The government must end the care cliff, prioritise social housing for young people leaving care and make sure they have the support they need every step of the way to make a positive start to adulthood.”
The charity also added in its report: “We know that the number of care leavers who receive a statutory homeless duty are just the tip of the iceberg and beyond these statistics are many more who are ‘hidden homeless’.”
Earlier this month, the government published statistics that showed 4,300 care leavers between 18 and 20 years old were owed a homelessness duty by their local authority in the year to the end of March 2024.
This marked a 16% rise from the previous year period, which saw 3,710 care leavers owed the duty.
Read more:
Watchdog warns ‘many children’ miss out on healthcare
Rising cost of care to cause £54bn blackhole for councils
At the Labour Party conference in September, Sir Keir Starmer said young care leavers, veterans and domestic abuse victims would “have the security they deserve” and “will have a roof over their head”.
Labour has previously said planned changes – set to be brought through in future legislation – will mean all three groups are exempt from local connection or residency tests which most councils use to determine who qualifies for social housing.