Local Solutions, a charity launched in 1974, has provided support to homeless young people from its inception. The charity offers supported accommodation for homeless young people to help them stay safe, get expert support and develop the skills and experience needed to move on to independent living. The cost-of-living crisis is now stripping young homeless people of the option to thrive in a home of their own.
Rent increases have hit a 13-year high and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are predicting the worst is yet to come following the energy price cap hike – which has added more than £700 to the typical annual bill.
These spiralling costs are already preventing young people from moving on supported accommodation and from sustaining tenancies resulting in bed blocking, tenancy failure, rough sleeping and increasing cyclical homelessness.
Local Solutions are stepping in to help with a new Power Up campaign to support and empower young people to move on from hostels and temporary accommodation and to successfully establish and sustain their own homes through these increasingly testing and insecure times.
The campaign will enable Local Solutions to continue to support these young people with the increased financial pressures of setting up and sustaining their own homes in the face of the cost-of-living crisis. Over for the first crucial 3 months of their tenancy, this financial support will provide vital breathing space and help reduce tenancy breakdown and repeat homelessness.
Jenny Snell, Head of Development and Impact at Local Solutions, said: “The Power Up campaign will empower young people to succeed in sustaining tenancies and provide support for them in their community. Funding will support them in the first challenging months of a tenancy, enabling them to be independent, live with dignity and increase the chances of them realising their full potential and succeed in living independently.
“Because of the cost-of-living crisis, young people will find it very difficult to secure and sustain their own homes and they will be trapped in a cycle of homelessness and the negative physical and mental impact that this will inevitably have on them.”
One in five young people are ready to move on from temporary supported accommodation, but they are prevented from doing so because they simply cannot pass the affordability test to qualify for a tenancy agreement.
Tom Harrison, Chief Executive at Local Solutions added: “We have always been there for homeless young people; providing a safe place to live and the skills, support and confidence they need to move on to independent living.
“The current funding available to support young people is limited and cannot reach everyone that needs it and, with the rise in inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, this gap will only widen – so that is why the Power Up campaign is so important.”
