Young people in rural UK must be prioritised in the Government’s national plan to end homelessness, we told BBC Countryfile.
New figures reveal rural youth homelessness in the UK has risen by six percent in the last year. EveryYouth and our Delivery Partner, The Amber Foundation, highlighted the unique challenges faced by young people in rural areas and what solutions are needed as part of the latest BBC Countryfile episode with Datshiane Navanayagam.
Staff at the Amber Foundation work tirelessly to help young people find stable employment, housing and mental health support amid a climate of zero-hour contracts, seasonal work, lack of public transport and shrinking support services nearby. This isn’t just a problem in Devon – rural youth homelessness is a national issue, with our member charities in East Anglia, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland reporting similar issues.
Our CEO Nicholas Connolly said: “We think there are some really strong elements to [the Government’s National Plan to End Homelessness] such as paying for rent deposits so young people can move into private tenancies which will obviously make a big difference.
“We are particularly interested in a programme called Upstream…it’s a preventative service but to date it’s only really being delivered in urban areas. We think that should be extended with a particular focus on rural areas where it’s much harder to help young people when it all goes wrong.
“We think young people in rural areas get forgotten about and the vast majority of policies focus on those areas where it’s easiest to support young people like big towns and cities. We think there should be recognition that it is harder for young people in rural areas.”
EveryYouth is delighted to see that the Government’s ‘National Plan to End Homelessness’ includes a specific strategy for young people recognising the power of early intervention in preventing the transition from youth homelessness to adult rough sleeping.
But it does not include enough support for thousands of young people facing homelessness across the UK – especially in rural areas – who have left formal education settings and school and aren’t care leavers.
The Government says it’s “exploring opportunities to build” on the success of Upstream pilots in the UK as part of its national plan to end homelessness. Upstream is a school programme designed to identify issues such as school disengagement, poor mental health and family conflict, providing early interventions for young people to reduce the risk of problems escalating and leading to homelessness.
The longest running Upstream pilots in the UK are in Wales and Scotland with our partner charities Llamau, Aberdeen Foyer and The Rock Trust, and have proven that 60% of children that need help are flying under the radar.
It’s time to include rural schools in England in the Upstream programme – so far pilots in England have only been rolled out in cities such as Manchester, London and Sheffield.
Areas such as Cornwall and Devon, Aberdeenshire, Northern Ireland, and Norfolk and Suffolk are where young people struggle the most to find permanent work and adequate transport, our member charities tell us.
These areas are where the Government should invest in job opportunities as part of the first phase of its Jobs Guarantee for young people, beginning in April, alongside serious investment in public transport and affordable housing. So far the Jobs Guarantee is rolling out in major cities such as Birmingham and Greater Manchester.
We are investing in Northern Ireland and Aberdeenshire as part of Project Flourish, our own award-winning employability scheme for young people created in collaboration with global recruitment service providers Hays, and would readily share our findings with Government to make sure young people stay off benefits and thrive in meaningful jobs.
Services such as mental health support, food banks, housing support hubs and even places to have a shower and do laundry would be a huge help to young people experience homelessness in rural areas.
Funding has dried up post Covid and young people supported by the EveryYouth Network have told us they feel isolated or forced to move to nearby cities where they have no connections, or forced to pay huge amounts on public transport to travel to places like Exeter for work.
Mental health support needs to be much more readily available for the young people we support. Young people facing homelessness are more likely to have experienced 6+ Adverse Childhood Experiences such as abuse and negligence. The Government aims to expand Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. Can a school mental health team alone handle a young person with multiple traumas and zero family support?
We have previously called for Government-supported rent guarantor schemes for young people who face discriminatory practises by landlords, blocking them out of private rental market. It’s encouraging to see the Government is considering a scheme for care leavers, but this must be made available to all young people experiencing homelessness in the UK.
