Young people leaving care often face numerous barriers to securing adequate housing, including poor transition planning and restrictive housing law, leaving many at risk of homelessness. This is an acute problem in London, given long waiting lists for social housing, the high cost of renting, and the large proportion of care leavers who are placed ‘out of area’, often far away from any support network they may have.
One third of care leavers experience homelessness in the first two years immediately after they leave care – a finding backed up by our casework experience. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the increased economic strain on young people unable to fall back on parents for support is likely to increase the rate of homelessness amongst care leavers even further.
Young care leavers views and experiences are frequently missing from policy discussions which directly affect them, but we’re changing that.
Funded by Trust for London, the Care Leavers for Housing Rights campaign offers young people aged between 16 and 25 with lived experience of the care system the opportunity to influence positive change and wider reform to help ensure young care leavers have their right to adequate housing realised. Coordinated by the Children’s Rights Alliance for England (part of Just for Kids Law) with the support of our Policy and Public Affairs Officer and Youth Engagement and Campaigns Organiser, the young people on the campaign will form the campaign’s steering group responsible for the creation and direction of the Care Leavers for Housing Rights campaign.
How to get involved
We’re now looking for care experienced young people with experience of housing or homelessness issues in London to join our campaign steering group! Young people who get involved in our campaign work will be recognised and regarded as experts by experience and activists campaigning for the right to adequate housing. Support to participate includes travel cost reimbursement, as well as digital connection and refreshments provided during participation. We will be hosting a Zoom info session to explain more about the campaign and what it takes to volunteer as a campaign, if you’d like to get involved, mark your calendar with our Zoom link.
Please get in touch with our Youth Engagement and Campaigns Organiser Michaela Rafferty at michaelarafferty@justforkidslaw.org for more information.