Scandal Of London’s ‘Hidden Homeless’

A new report reveals that one in five young people in the UK have sofa-surfed in the past year – and almost half of them have done so for more than a month.

London Assembly housing committee’s report on hidden homeless sheds light an issue that is invisible to most of the public and by many local and national politicians. Hidden homeless people are those without a place to call home, but who are hidden from official statistics and not receiving support.

The report says many of these young people can find themselves in precarious situations, including sofa surfing, sleeping rough, squatting, and sleeping on public transport. These can be dangerous and leave people at risk of abuse, assault and exploitation. The researchers estimate the numbers in London and found that 13 times more people are homeless but hidden than are visibly sleeping rough – as many as 12,500 each night.

Young people are most likely to be affected, particularly people who identify as LGBT. This also affects people who aren’t eligible for homelessness support and people fleeing domestic violence. Only one in five young people affected present to a council, meaning they remain hidden from possible support. Some that do seek help from councils fail to be recognised as vulnerable, despite being in danger.

Whilst conceding that the new Homelessness Reduction Act may help with this problem, they also say that the London Mayor and the Government need to support local authorities in tackling it, look at gaps in eligibility for support, and do more to promote access to homelessness services.

Paul Noblet, Head of Public Affairs at Centrepoint, said: “This report highlights an issue which goes unseen by the public and by many politicians at a local and national level. Centrepoint’s own research indicates that official government statistics continue to significantly underestimate the number of homeless young people. Understanding the true scale and nature of homelessness is vital if we are to be able to tackle it, and to ensure that sufficient resources are allocated to the task.”

“Many young people don’t know where to go for help when they are homeless. The Committee is right to call for TfL and other agencies across London to play a bigger role in signposting, for example through Tube and bus adverts, to help connect more young people to support services.”

“Crucially there must also be suitable services available for young people when they do ask for help. The Homelessness Reduction Act could play an important role in improving provision for those who are homeless or at risk of becoming so, but sufficient central government funding must be provided for local authorities to deliver their new duties under the Act, to ensure that the laudable ambitions of the policy are realised for the thousands of people that this report shows are desperately in need of more support.”

You can download the report ‘Hidden Homeless In London’ here: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/london_assembly_-_hidden_homelessness_report.pdf