0:02

The podcast from centre

0:02

by young people for all people.

0:11

Centerpoint is the UK is leading

0:11

youth homelessness charity. at

0:16

Centerpoint. We believe no young

0:16

person's life should be defined

0:20

by homelessness. We give young

0:20

people the support they need to

0:24

heal and grow no matter what.

0:24

for over 50 years, we've been

0:29

the centre point for change,

0:29

personal and political. Everyone

0:34

has their part to play. With

0:34

young people leading the way.

0:38

This podcast has been created by

0:38

young people with lived

0:42

experience of homelessness will

0:42

be shining a spotlight on some

0:47

of the issues that affect us. We

0:47

hope to challenge and change

0:51

some of the stereotypes and

0:51

bring others with us as part of

0:55

a movement to end youth

0:55

homelessness for good.

1:07

Welcome to point made the

1:07

centerpoint podcast by young

1:10

people for all people. My name

1:10

is Tony Gurdon. I'm passionate

1:15

about social justice. In today's

1:15

episode, we will be talking

1:21

about the meaning of home as

1:21

Centerpoint launches its new

1:24

research on social housing. The

1:24

aim of the research was to

1:28

examine the housing aspirations

1:28

of young people with experiences

1:33

of homelessness and think about

1:33

the ideas that grounded. Through

1:37

this, we suggest that young

1:37

people's housing goals are

1:40

rooted in notions of

1:40

affordability, safety, and

1:44

security, giving them the

1:44

foundation to have agency over

1:47

their lives, and perhaps for the

1:47

first time, consider their

1:51

futures. Before we get into this

1:51

discussion, I'd like to

1:55

introduce our panel. I'm Tom, I'm a policy researcher

1:56

at Centerpoint. I wrote and did

2:01

the research that toniann just

2:01

mentioned.

2:04

Hi, I'm a crier. I'm 19 years

2:04

old. I've been homeless for

2:08

about a year. I come from a care

2:08

experience background. And I'm

2:12

here today because when I became

2:12

homeless, I felt like I became

2:17

invisible to society. And I want

2:17

to help spread awareness on what

2:22

homelessness actually means to

2:22

young people.

2:26

Hi, my name is Louise, I'm

2:26

passionate about social justice,

2:29

I have lived experience of using

2:29

the service. I work in

2:32

education. So I'm passionate

2:32

about young people having stable

2:35

homes. Thank you. It's great to have

2:37

you here. Tom, what were the

2:41

main takeaways from your research? Yeah, so obviously, there were

2:44

quite a few takeaways. But I

2:47

think essentially, we found that

2:47

young people, like everyone want

2:53

affordable, safe and secure

2:53

housing, they want to live in a

2:58

home, where if the cost of

2:58

energy or food goes up, they

3:03

know that they're still gonna be able to pay the rent at the end of the month, they want to live

3:05

in a home where they're not kind

3:09

of subject to the whims of a

3:09

landlord who might kick them

3:12

out, you know, in next month,

3:12

for this month, for tomorrow,

3:15

even, they want to also feel

3:15

safe in their home, they want to

3:18

have control over who enters

3:18

their house, who they share

3:22

their house with. And they want

3:22

to feel essentially, like they

3:26

have power over the places in

3:26

which they live. And I think we

3:31

also found that that feeling of

3:31

power, that feeling of

3:33

stability, gives people the

3:33

opportunity to think, you know,

3:37

think about their futures and to

3:37

start setting goals in the long

3:40

term. We found that, say for

3:40

example, opportunities to live

3:45

in her social housing enabled

3:45

young people to think perhaps

3:49

for the first time about what it

3:49

is that they wanted to do for

3:51

their jobs, to build a kind of

3:51

Korea for themselves, which was

3:56

amazing to see. You know, we saw

3:56

some people had started

4:00

businesses from their flats, we

4:00

saw that some people had started

4:03

to go down a really creative

4:03

pathways. And we found that that

4:07

was all because they had

4:07

stability, they felt like they

4:10

could actually kind of live in a

4:10

home where they were able to be

4:12

themselves and think about what

4:12

they wanted to do. We also found

4:16

that young people found kind of

4:16

stable home stable housing, gave

4:22

them opportunities to like build

4:22

relationships, and develop

4:25

networks of support with other

4:25

people, you know, having come

4:28

from quite, I guess, chaotic

4:28

backgrounds without perhaps

4:31

moving around quite a lot. It

4:31

meant that the young people who

4:34

we interviewed hadn't been able

4:34

to develop kind of meaningful

4:37

relationships that lasted in the

4:37

long term. And actually, the

4:42

chance or the opportunity to

4:42

live in this kind of stable home

4:45

enabled them to begin to develop

4:45

like friendships, start to kind

4:51

of interact with neighbours

4:51

start to engage in community

4:54

activities and activism. So it

4:54

was a really kind of interesting

4:59

how comes that he noticed. But

4:59

of course, we also found that

5:03

the actual kind of housing

5:03

market in this country isn't

5:07

necessarily kind of set up to

5:07

support young people to live

5:10

stay at, you know, to live in

5:10

stable accommodation, social

5:14

housing is a really inaccessible

5:14

option for many, many young

5:19

people, unless they have kind of

5:19

significant priority. You know,

5:22

for example, if they have a kind

5:22

of disability, or if they have,

5:26

you know, if it's like a mother

5:26

with a with a child, for

5:28

example. So we also found that

5:28

there, there really needs to be

5:32

a real kind of increase in

5:32

social homes being built, so

5:37

that young people could, I

5:37

guess, for the first time, start

5:41

to think in the long term start

5:41

to plan their lives and start to

5:43

really lead I guess what they

5:43

were, they were considered to be

5:47

meaningful lives. Thank you, Tom. That's very

5:49

insightful. And to Louise and

5:52

Accra, home means lots of

5:52

different things to different

5:56

people. What does home mean to

5:56

you, beyond the four walls and a

6:01

roof, to me home means somewhere I can

6:02

feel safe and protected. And

6:06

that's something that sounds

6:06

very basic, but there's a big

6:10

lack of, especially in places

6:10

like sheltered housing, there's

6:13

a lot of lack of control over

6:13

the environment, especially when

6:18

the most accessible housing is

6:18

one that you share with other

6:22

people that I would have never

6:22

met before.

6:25

For me, home isn't always about

6:25

a place, I always say Home is

6:28

where the heart is. And

6:28

sometimes place may not be home,

6:30

but it's a feeling. And you can

6:30

get that from friends, family,

6:33

and others. And I think the most

6:33

important thing for me, it's

6:36

like, I have lived experience of

6:36

being in the care system. And

6:40

when I didn't move into when I

6:40

did use the service, I think

6:43

it's important to have safety

6:43

and security. The fact that you

6:46

know, you can be able to lock

6:46

your door and know who's coming

6:48

in on the fact that I think it's

6:48

important to know your

6:50

neighbours, and to who you live

6:50

with and who you share with

6:54

because at the end of the day,

6:54

know your, when it's just you,

6:57

by yourself safely, so

6:57

important. You need to be able

7:00

to protect yourself. And if you

7:00

don't know, if you're placed in

7:05

certain sheltered

7:05

accommodations, you have no

7:07

choice of where you where you

7:07

can live. And that can sometimes

7:11

be a barrier for some young

7:11

people, because then they might

7:14

be put in certain situations.

7:14

Yeah, I just think, you know,

7:17

safety, it may seem like

7:17

something basic, but actually,

7:20

when you don't have safety is

7:20

the biggest thing for you, you

7:23

know, you want to feel safe, you

7:23

want to be able to lock your

7:25

door, you want to be able to know that you're coming to a safe environment, and it is

7:27

home. And you also want to feel

7:30

secure that this is mine, and

7:30

you don't want to feel like

7:33

someone's gonna take it, you

7:33

know, lift the rug off of you,

7:35

you want to feel like okay,

7:35

this, I'm secure. Because once

7:38

you secure, you can build a

7:38

life, you know, you can get

7:41

settled. But once you're if

7:41

you're on edge, you cannot do

7:43

that. You're surviving if you're

7:45

living in that sort of state.

7:49

And that's not the way to live. And we want you to be thriving.

7:50

Sure. Our research has found

7:56

that access to social housing

7:56

can vary a lot for young people.

8:00

Some only have to wait a few

8:00

weeks or months to access social

8:04

housing, or others who do not

8:04

have a priority or who live in

8:08

areas with very little social

8:08

housing, can struggle to even

8:12

find somewhere. What has been

8:12

your experiences of trying to

8:17

secure social housing? So actually, I've was I got a

8:21

bit lucky I got my accommodation

8:24

a week before lockdown happened.

8:24

And if it had happened a week

8:27

later, I don't think I would

8:27

have had it but also I was six

8:31

months pregnant. So I do think I

8:31

was a priority. But I don't

8:34

think I do think that even if

8:34

you know you don't you know you

8:37

aren't pregnant, you don't have kid I do think you should still be prioritised as well.

8:39

Especially if you're a

8:41

vulnerable young person, but

8:41

when I was six months, they

8:44

found me my permanent place

8:44

where I am now. And it was a

8:48

week before lockdown. And you

8:48

know, that was quite intense

8:51

because I had to be interviewed

8:51

on a panel so I I am lucky that

8:56

my PA workout was supportive to

8:56

me, but I know that that may not

9:02

always be the case for others.

9:02

So and it's kind of a bit like a

9:05

postcode lottery. Yeah, I agree. For me, this was

9:08

never the option. I never plan

9:15

to ever be homeless as this

9:15

every young person who is

9:18

homeless. I was in cars in a

9:18

same foster home for around 10

9:23

to 11 years and had a breakdown

9:23

on that home post 18. And as a

9:29

care leaver the options offered

9:29

to me was temporary

9:32

accommodation or the homeless

9:32

shelter. Before I made my

9:35

decision, I got to see these,

9:35

how they were and I'm from my

9:39

house was an affluent area. So I

9:39

was very blessed and lucky to be

9:44

from that area and to have to

9:44

leave that was a big decision to

9:48

make along with the emotional

9:48

detachment from actual what I

9:52

called family. I want to pursue

9:52

higher education which is very

9:58

unlikely for a person in life

9:58

position. And it's discouraging

10:04

to one that for myself, because

10:04

I'm now not prioritised. And

10:08

there's a lot of grey area on to

10:08

where I can keep permanent

10:11

accommodation. While being in

10:11

university. I remember when I

10:15

first moved in, actually left my

10:15

home before I moved all my

10:19

stuff, I was moving 11 years of

10:19

my life on my own. And it was

10:24

extremely difficult, especially

10:24

how I do not drive. And I had

10:28

inconsistent family members to

10:28

do that for me. I remember being

10:36

in those four walls of my room,

10:36

it felt very trapping. And the

10:43

first things I actually did was

10:43

change the light bulb, because

10:46

that light bulb was really dim.

10:46

And it really made a difference

10:49

changing it. But it was small

10:49

things like this that no one

10:54

really paid attention to. And it

10:54

made the world's difference. And

10:59

a mate had had about 15 to 20

10:59

pounds to spend on you know,

11:04

making my room my space. So I

11:04

bought a plant. And that plant

11:08

that splash of green, it made it

11:08

more friendly, more welcoming,

11:12

are more comfy. And I'm

11:12

grateful, I've been able to make

11:17

my space, my space and feel

11:17

protected.

11:21

I just wanted to add as well.

11:21

When I moved into my place, I

11:24

was six months pregnant. And

11:24

well, it was well begin the

11:29

beginning of the pandemic, I

11:29

didn't have any family friends

11:32

to help me. So I had to get a

11:32

taxi and my PA had to hire a

11:37

van. But they wouldn't bring it

11:37

up the stairs and I lived on the

11:41

first floor. And so I had to

11:41

carry up the stairs, well, six

11:44

months pregnant. And that was

11:44

quite frightening, because just

11:47

offer heavy. And when my

11:47

mattress got delivered, I had to

11:50

carry up the stairs. And nobody

11:50

helped me. And I just think it

11:54

matters to have that support

11:54

around you, you know, to move

11:57

into a new place a new

11:57

environment, a new area, you

12:00

don't know anyone you're by

12:00

yourself is very daunting. And I

12:05

just think it's important that

12:05

people had that support to be

12:07

supported, for them to have

12:07

community connections, if

12:10

possible, because you know,

12:10

moving on your own, I wouldn't

12:13

wish that for anybody. And I

12:13

think it's so important that we

12:15

have that structure. Before I

12:15

quickly go, I just want to say

12:19

as well before I got my place.

12:19

They actually tried to put me on

12:22

the fourth floor. And there were

12:22

no lifts. And so I actually had

12:25

to fight for myself to be like

12:25

Well, unfortunately, you know,

12:28

I'm pregnant. For floor no lift

12:28

if I have when I have my young

12:32

my baby and I've got a buggy,

12:32

I'm not Superwoman. And so they

12:36

thought you're young you can

12:36

carry it but I really had to

12:38

fight for myself to be like, No,

12:38

this isn't acceptable. Can I be

12:41

live on the first floor? Here? Mommy asked asking what is

12:43

it been like for you to have a

12:45

child while being homeless? I would say I had her locked

12:49

down. So that was traumatising.

12:53

Because I had to go to

12:53

appointments alone scans alone,

12:56

I had to get tests I was in

12:56

labour by myself, they wouldn't

12:58

allow anybody in. It was it was

12:58

very hard and daunting. Because

13:02

you know, you could be told life

13:02

changing news and there's no one

13:05

to support you. There's no one

13:05

to hold, hold your hand. And

13:08

you're also being judged as well

13:08

being being from a care

13:11

experience background you're

13:11

being judged for if you're if

13:14

you're able to be a suitable

13:14

parent, or caregiver. So that

13:17

was hard as well. Thank you for

13:17

sharing.

13:21

Thank you so much for sharing,

13:21

you're both very brave. What has

13:25

deterred you from trying to

13:25

secure a privately rented

13:29

property is that the cost of

13:29

living is that discrimination

13:32

from landlords in security

13:32

deposits or anything else that

13:37

you've experienced? Well, it's a combination of all

13:38

of the above, it's really

13:41

difficult to privately read.

13:41

There's a discouragement from

13:47

social housing itself. Because

13:47

if I was to get private read, I

13:52

would lose my entitlement to a

13:52

flat as a carryover. I can't

13:58

necessarily work enough to

13:58

afford a deposit. And I do not

14:02

have a guarantor, which makes

14:02

acquiring housing and being

14:06

approved for housing really

14:06

difficult, as well as being able

14:10

to afford it in this cost of

14:10

living crisis.

14:13

I mean, I will add, I was on

14:13

Universal Credit when I first

14:16

saw my little one. So

14:16

unfortunately, I wouldn't have

14:18

been able to afford some of the

14:18

private renting and also they

14:21

discriminate against people who

14:21

are on Universal Credit, which I

14:24

think is wrong, because the way

14:24

I see it, as long as the rent

14:26

paid was the problem. And also

14:26

because I was character sprint,

14:29

I didn't have a guarantor who

14:29

earned over like 40k to kind of

14:31

like, you know, back me up or or

14:31

to support me, I couldn't even

14:35

afford a deposit. And so I think

14:35

there are barriers for young

14:38

people accessing private renting

14:38

because, you know, there are

14:41

times when people can actually

14:41

afford to pay the rent, but

14:45

because of you know, guarantor

14:45

because of deposits in place and

14:48

not able to access that and also

14:48

have been discriminated against.

14:52

So that was hard and even now

14:52

I've got a new job which is

14:55

really stable. But I the way the

14:55

market is right now if I will to

15:00

private rent, who's to say in

15:00

next year, it will go up by, you

15:04

know, double, and then that

15:04

could be an issue. Because if

15:07

I'm looking at the year ahead,

15:07

and then because of private

15:11

renting, they can have a kick you out because they want the property back, or they can up

15:13

the rent, like, as much as they

15:16

want. So the problem is that

15:16

there's no kind of, there's no

15:19

rule for every single one of

15:19

them. It's like they all have

15:22

their own. And so the problem

15:22

is, is that you never know, but

15:24

private renting, you could be gone tomorrow, you might have to leave in 30 days. And so I think

15:26

it's a lack of insecurity, you

15:31

know, it's never going to be

15:31

yours is you know, because you

15:33

have to give it back at some

15:33

point. And so, I am grateful

15:36

that I have my social housing,

15:36

because the private rented

15:39

market right now is horrendous, and people are having to be evicted for short notice, and I

15:41

know money. Yeah.

15:46

Thank you so much for sharing. I

15:46

really resonate with both of

15:50

you, as a young person with

15:50

protected characteristics. I've

15:53

experienced, you know,

15:53

homelessness, I've experienced,

15:58

being a caregiver, but not

15:58

having the support from the care

16:01

team, just being given a flat,

16:01

and you know, here's your home,

16:05

that's it, and not really being

16:05

checked upon. And then I just

16:10

kind of dropped off the books

16:10

when I turned 21. Same thing as

16:13

you at Quora, I was in a stable

16:13

placement. And unfortunately,

16:17

something happened. And the

16:17

option was go back home to the

16:21

issues that I was running from,

16:21

or go into semi independent

16:26

living. And the room that I was

16:26

offered was the size of a

16:30

bathroom. So we're talking very

16:30

small, and I could just about

16:34

turn around in that room. And it

16:34

was not suitable the person

16:39

offering that space was very

16:39

hostile. So I was limited to

16:43

that room between certain hours,

16:43

I wasn't able to use the

16:47

family's computers and things

16:47

like that. And I didn't own one

16:50

of my own. I wasn't allowed to

16:50

eat in their dining room. And I

16:56

really felt as though I was

16:56

imposing on them. In the end,

17:00

unfortunately, I did go back

17:00

home. And that broke down, my

17:05

social worker tried to advocate

17:05

for me to tell them, you know,

17:08

this is not the ideal thing, she

17:08

should not be going home. And

17:12

she just wasn't heard. And

17:12

within four weeks of them

17:15

putting me back home, who was

17:15

back in the care teams office

17:18

demanding to be placed somewhere

17:18

else anywhere else, because my

17:22

situation was that bad. I have

17:22

hidden disabilities. So for me

17:27

having a chronic pain condition

17:27

that you know, flares all the

17:30

time, from one day to the next,

17:30

my strength levels are

17:33

different. The level of

17:33

advocation that I can also offer

17:37

myself is different as well,

17:37

there are some times where I'm

17:40

able to speak clearly and

17:40

flippantly. And there's other

17:43

days where I can't even string a

17:43

sentence together. So having

17:47

those experiences really

17:47

impacted me or impacted on me as

17:51

a person, because those who are

17:51

thought that were there to

17:54

support me and those that told

17:54

me, they're there to support me,

17:58

they weren't, and I was all

17:58

alone. So I can completely

18:01

identify with how both of you

18:01

have gone through the situation.

18:05

And same with the renting. If I

18:05

was to go into private renting,

18:10

I could not afford it, I have

18:10

not been able to work for a

18:13

numerous amount of years due to

18:13

my hidden disabilities. And I've

18:18

definitely don't have savings. I

18:18

do not know what a rainy day

18:22

fund is, that does not exist in

18:22

my vocabulary. So it's really

18:28

about the means. And the

18:28

intention is there, I'd love to

18:31

have savings, I'd love to have a

18:31

private pension, I'd love to

18:34

have private health care, but I

18:34

just cannot afford it. And

18:38

especially now in times where

18:38

the cost of living crisis is

18:42

just, it's just rising. And it's

18:42

just continuing.

18:45

Thank you for sharing as a real

18:45

strength in that what you're

18:49

describing to me, as upsetting

18:49

as it is, it's not shocking.

18:54

This is a very, very normal

18:54

experience to feel like a social

18:57

outcast for a crime you didn't

18:57

commit. We as children had no

19:03

control on being placed in care

19:03

that was somewhat decided by

19:07

local authority. And it's sort

19:07

of like your phone deepened. And

19:12

you're all of a sudden have all

19:12

these responsibilities and to

19:17

you have to survive, we have to

19:17

adapt. So I think everyone gets

19:20

to the point where we accept

19:20

that this is our reality.

19:23

Thank you for sharing what you

19:23

said management Adam, winter is

19:26

so important because you know we

19:26

have certain lived experiences

19:29

and when you have certain

19:29

experiences your your outlook is

19:32

very different to somebody else.

19:32

And people don't take into

19:34

consideration that actually, the

19:34

way you see the world is very

19:37

different to someone else in the

19:37

world. And then you're being

19:40

judged on for seeing it one way

19:40

but you never had any control

19:43

over that, you know, and if

19:43

you're constantly in survival

19:45

mode, you don't even know what

19:45

it's like to be peace. You don't

19:48

even know what it's like to not

19:48

worry about money and bills. The

19:50

first thing we're thinking about

19:50

is how we're gonna pay the

19:52

bills. Can we afford to live you

19:52

know, we have to look at the

19:57

next day we have to look at

19:57

finances we have to plan ahead.

19:59

We I'm never able to relax. And

19:59

so I think it's important that,

20:03

you know, when others, you know,

20:03

who've never had to struggle

20:06

who've never had to, or in that

20:06

way in terms of survival, like,

20:10

you don't appreciate what a

20:10

blessing is to have a roof over

20:12

your head to have cooked hot

20:12

foods, you'd be able to have a

20:16

shower, to be able to, you know,

20:16

even have a mobile phone or have

20:20

money on your oyster even or

20:20

even have money in your bank,

20:23

like, until you're in a position

20:23

where that is a luxury is quite

20:27

daunting. And then you're also

20:27

being judged as a young person

20:30

for something that you didn't

20:30

even, it wasn't even your

20:33

choice. And then the corporate

20:33

parents who meant to look after

20:36

us and be there for us, it seems

20:36

like when you hit 18, they're

20:39

nowhere to be seen. And then,

20:39

depending on where you live,

20:42

it's kind of like a postcode

20:42

lottery, and not every service

20:44

knows about other organisations

20:44

that can help them support you.

20:47

And so the fact that they don't

20:47

work together is a problem, it's

20:51

an issue, because, you know, if

20:51

there are services out there

20:53

that are meant to help them support us, we should, they should all work together to help

20:55

us because, you know, we're

20:58

gonna go up, and we're going to

20:58

be next generation. And if we're

21:01

not, okay, you know, and we're

21:01

not, we haven't healed, we

21:05

haven't been supported, it's

21:05

going to affect, you know, the

21:08

future, and it's gonna affect

21:08

people around us. So I think

21:10

it's important to invest in

21:10

young people, you know, to help

21:13

support them as they should,

21:13

because that is our duty as our

21:15

corporate parents to make sure

21:15

that we're safe, happy, you

21:19

know, heard, and it's a shame

21:19

that we have to get advocates

21:22

for fight on our behalf. If we

21:22

know about advocacy, you know, a

21:26

lot has to change. So, yeah, I completely agree with you. And

21:28

I just want to mention the fact

21:32

that it actually was my choice

21:32

to go into care. So when I was

21:36

15, I was actually fleeing the

21:36

violence that was in my home and

21:40

the issues. And I went to seek

21:40

advice from someone that worked

21:46

not in the local authority, but

21:46

like an advice service. And this

21:50

person had expressed to me that

21:50

the fact that my parent wasn't

21:53

in the country at the time, I

21:53

was alone. And what I was

21:57

actually going through the fact

21:57

that no one was actually

21:59

listening or hearing what I had

21:59

to say, and they advised me to

22:03

seek a lawyer. And I went into

22:03

the social housing team, I'd

22:07

gone into the, you know, the

22:07

children's care team. And I was

22:10

laughed out of the building at

22:10

the time when I told them my

22:13

story and what I was dealing

22:13

with. And that was what drove me

22:16

to end up listening to this

22:16

person and going to a law firm.

22:19

And at the time, I got free

22:19

representation. Because I was

22:23

under a certain age, I took all

22:23

my documents with me everything

22:26

that I could think of, and I

22:26

spoke with the lawyers, and they

22:29

took my case, they ended up

22:29

writing to my local authority

22:33

and let it they let them know that they were actually violating a specific law from

22:35

the child act of something, some

22:41

19 Something, children, right.

22:41

And that actually is what caused

22:47

me to get into social care. The

22:47

fact that you had to go to that

22:49

extent, to be able to be heard

22:49

was absolutely terrifying,

22:54

because at the time, I was also

22:54

hidden, homeless, I was sofa

22:57

surfing, I was sleeping on the

22:57

couch at my friend's house, my

23:00

mail was going to a different

23:00

address. And at school, I'm

23:03

showering in the bathroom, by

23:03

using the sink, going in a

23:07

little bit earlier, or waiting

23:07

till my peers leave so that I

23:10

could use the bathroom having a

23:10

hot meal in school was like the

23:13

only way that I ate at times. So

23:13

I can completely identify with

23:18

what both of you are saying

23:18

about almost slipping through

23:22

the cracks. That's what I'm hearing, I just wanted to add one quickly

23:24

about slipping through the

23:26

cracks slipping through the

23:26

cracks. You know, being under

23:29

the radar, I think is so

23:29

important. Because, you know,

23:33

many people have this idea of

23:33

care Tracy Beaker, but that's

23:35

not the idea of what it's like

23:35

for other caregivers, or

23:37

sometimes, you know, sofa

23:37

surfing, there's different.

23:40

There's different outlooks on

23:40

homelessness to different young

23:42

people. And I think when you're

23:42

in such a vulnerable state, and

23:45

then you know, the people that are meant to help you aren't there, you know, we have to

23:47

understand that there's reasons

23:50

why young people fall through

23:50

the cracks, or they may go down

23:54

certain routes or Yeah, even to,

23:54

you know, decide to not want to

23:58

be in this world and in one is that we have to address that issue is that, you know, as

24:00

young people as people, we need

24:03

support. And if you don't give

24:03

that person support, if you look

24:07

away, turn a blind eye, you

24:07

don't actually help them. I

24:11

think, you know, it's gonna have

24:11

catastrophic, you know, effect.

24:15

And I think it's important to

24:15

listen to your person, when they

24:18

say they need help, or to see if

24:18

they're struggling and on offer

24:21

that support and advice because

24:21

you never know what that can

24:23

mean to them in that moment. With consequences of not being

24:26

heard, from a really young age,

24:31

you've placed on the so much

24:31

pressure and it gets to a point

24:35

where you need it escape. And

24:35

something that's easily

24:38

available is alcohol, drugs,

24:38

relationships, and once you

24:44

enter that world of numbing, it

24:44

can be very difficult to surface

24:49

to a level mind and be able to

24:49

advocate for yourself and once

24:55

you engage in in that sort of

24:55

world, you're viewed as someone

24:59

who is not worthy of their

24:59

support. And it's really sad and

25:05

disappointing because you're

25:05

merely just someone trying to

25:08

survive trying to navigate

25:08

things that no one should ever

25:11

really have to navigate. I really identify with you cry.

25:13

I kind of grew up not planning

25:19

past the age of 60. Of course, I never saw a future.

25:20

Because this is the way I felt,

25:24

I felt like I would not be able

25:24

to take it. But I never expected

25:28

to sit here today and be able to

25:28

have this conversation

25:31

exactly who I am today and who I

25:31

was when I was 15, or two

25:35

different complete characters,

25:35

and I have been working on that

25:39

trauma for over 13 years, and

25:39

I'm still working on it today,

25:42

and it probably will never go

25:42

it's something that's a part of

25:45

your identity. And it's, you

25:45

have to learn to accept it for a

25:51

long time, I was ashamed of

25:51

being classed as homeless. And I

25:56

didn't tell my friend and didn't

25:56

tell, it was really hard to

26:00

advocate for myself. And even

26:00

when I did, there's a really big

26:05

lack of understanding, it's not

26:05

just a roof over my head is

26:08

gone. And even if I do have one

26:08

for the near future, it's I feel

26:13

a lack of purpose, and I am you

26:13

become a product of your

26:17

environment. And if you don't

26:17

have those core values there,

26:20

and sometimes you need that

26:20

given to you, you need a support

26:24

system, we're social beings, and

26:24

that should be recognised. And a

26:32

structured support system is

26:32

something that should already

26:34

have been there from day one,

26:34

it's I don't understand why

26:40

systems and policies are

26:40

surprised that they have such an

26:45

increase in drug usage and

26:45

mental health. It was always

26:50

dead, it just ignored it for as

26:50

long as possible. Now look at it

26:54

as a crisis isn't sometimes it's like, they

26:55

wait until it gets bad. And it's

26:59

like that is that's horrible.

26:59

You know, you shouldn't have to

27:01

wait until you get bad you

27:01

should help get there in the

27:03

beginning. Because you know, to

27:03

stop that, you know, and I think

27:07

it's important to like to get

27:07

certain support, you have to be

27:10

in desperate circumstances. And

27:10

I think that's horrible. Because

27:12

it's like, no, this person want

27:12

to help before to help prevent

27:15

this, and you can't help them

27:15

until they're in dire

27:17

circumstance. And I just think

27:17

that's wrong, because surely

27:20

you'd want to help in the

27:20

beginning, when it starts rather

27:22

than wait for it to escalate.

27:22

Because in that thing, that's

27:25

when things you know, get worse.

27:25

And I think, you know, one of

27:28

the solutions is like, when

27:28

people being trauma informed

27:30

schools, you know, colleges, six

27:30

forms you need, you know,

27:34

family, you know, slowly a

27:34

society of people being trauma

27:37

informed. And, you know, you

27:37

know, even after you leave care

27:41

at North all centre point and

27:41

having that support system, or a

27:45

group of people who you can call

27:45

on to help with maybe education,

27:50

housing, your rights, maybe

27:50

someone to be able to speak on

27:53

your behalf if needed, I think

27:53

that could be a good solution

27:56

going forward. Thank you so much, Louise and

27:57

ekra, what would have made your

28:02

experience easier. I think having someone to go to

28:05

having, I was grateful enough to

28:12

have a really good personal

28:12

advisor. And she, I would even

28:17

describe her as like God said,

28:17

and she really advocated for me

28:21

and protected me, I think, even

28:21

though she never directly told

28:27

me, she might have been through

28:27

x, y and z, that connection was

28:31

there. And that connection was

28:31

unspoken. And if there's someone

28:35

who doesn't have that

28:35

experience, it makes a

28:38

difference. And she ended up

28:38

having to leave, and it happens.

28:44

But losing that person and not

28:44

having someone to replace her

28:50

immediately. Or reach that level

28:50

of support. It broke me I didn't

28:56

have another person advisor for

28:56

about three months. I had things

29:01

like college extensions to catch

29:01

up and I'm having to contact the

29:06

Duty team which is a random

29:06

person each day. And it's a very

29:11

formal interaction for what is

29:11

an emotional problem. And

29:16

empathy is a chance. I think at the time, you know, I

29:19

may have looked like I was

29:22

functioning but actually I was

29:22

struggling so bad. I would cry

29:24

every single night just been

29:24

kicked out 18 I was doing like

29:28

my dream course that I fought

29:28

really hard to get in its sixth

29:30

form I loved it it was the best

29:30

thing that I could ever you know

29:34

want and I really wanted to

29:34

pursue like you know the theatre

29:36

I wanted to go to like a drama

29:36

school but I wasn't given that

29:40

support to help me thrive and

29:40

because of that my grades My

29:43

Grades dip, you know so low to

29:43

the point that I didn't think

29:46

they could get that low because

29:46

my home life was affected my

29:49

personal life having to be

29:49

kicked out at have to start from

29:53

scratch, you know have to move

29:53

into a new area a new

29:57

accommodation with people you

29:57

have no I did have to kind of

30:01

fend for yourself and get to

30:01

grips of credit scores and

30:04

money. It was daunting, it was

30:04

very scary for me and I couldn't

30:07

even concentrate on my work. And

30:07

my teacher was like, you know,

30:11

you're gonna have to leave six

30:11

one because, you know, I'm not

30:14

keeping up with my grades. I'm

30:14

not not meeting the quotas, but

30:16

actually, I'm having to think

30:16

about my safety. I'm coming

30:19

home, the front doors open,

30:19

because it was a flat chair, you

30:22

know, I'm thinking about, you

30:22

know, oh, you know, when I get

30:26

home normal checking if am I

30:26

alive? Am I okay? And the scary

30:29

thing is like, you can get

30:29

slipped under the radar, I could

30:31

have gone to Brighton and back, and nobody would have known like, and it's quite sad,

30:33

because we are vulnerable. And

30:36

when you support, yes, I may

30:36

have just turned 18. But I was

30:39

no way ready to move out. You

30:39

know, I was forcing too deep,

30:42

and I had to swim. And I think

30:42

it's important that what would

30:45

have helped me is having that

30:45

support, knowing that I can call

30:48

on them, they can help support

30:48

me, they need to give me certain

30:50

shooters, you know, contact me

30:50

to make sure that I'm a right,

30:55

you know, come round support me

30:55

and help me because I want it to

30:58

thrive. I want us to do that

30:58

course. But they didn't give me

31:01

that support to help me they

31:01

kind of left me on my own. And

31:04

I'm lucky to you know, to be

31:04

here today. But I think more

31:08

support in a more understanding

31:08

and you know, more signposted

31:12

from other organisations to be

31:12

able to support and help where

31:14

maybe they don't, that's not the

31:14

expertise. Yeah. I think

31:18

when you come forward as a young

31:18

person, your opinion is second

31:23

guessed, if you're going against

31:23

a teacher, or a social worker,

31:29

they're going to believe the

31:29

person who has a formal or

31:32

formal title. And even when

31:32

having advocation. For you, I

31:37

had a form tutor that just

31:37

didn't get it. And it broke me

31:45

in it. It there was days where I

31:45

just couldn't get out of bed. My

31:52

from where I lived before. And

31:52

where I got moved, my college

31:55

was about 10 miles from where I

31:55

lived. So travel was expensive.

32:01

I had to use my overdraft to go

32:01

into to go to college. I had one

32:08

grateful teacher, one teacher

32:08

that was great, grateful enough

32:12

to have sat down with me and

32:12

listen, I told her what was

32:16

going on. And she never, like

32:16

stopped my assignments being cut

32:23

that a pass because it was late,

32:23

there was one assignment where I

32:26

had submitted it on the last day

32:26

of college, and I put so much

32:30

effort into it. And I got the

32:30

highest grade. But I partly got

32:34

that high grade because I had

32:34

that advocacy and that support

32:38

and a belief in me. And with the

32:38

other assignments, they were

32:42

just, you've taken too long,

32:42

we're gonna have to stop you

32:45

there. If those people were put

32:45

in my shoes, I don't think they

32:48

would have even got the

32:48

assignment done. That

32:50

achievement in being able to get

32:50

for your day to day activities,

32:53

going up for breakfast,

32:53

showering, cleaning your space

32:57

that needs to be celebrated. I was in the same position as

32:59

both of you, thank you for

33:01

sharing. I was just as I put

33:01

myself in care. I was staying

33:08

with a family family friend,

33:08

well, the friend school friend,

33:12

and it was her family. And they

33:12

were trying to find me an actual

33:16

placement to go to and things

33:16

were just getting really hectic,

33:19

I was suffering from a lot of

33:19

bullying and things were just

33:22

really, really bad. And they

33:22

ended up telling me that I had

33:25

to leave my business engagement

33:25

course. And my business business

33:29

administration course, my

33:29

teacher tried to fight for me

33:32

and advocate for me, she was the

33:32

only person that spoke up on my

33:35

behalf, she could see that if I

33:35

was able to finish that course,

33:39

I would have gotten a star going

33:39

from that switch of having a

33:42

social worker to then turning

33:42

16. And then having a personal

33:46

advisor, I never understood the

33:46

difference in the change in the

33:50

name. I just felt like it meant

33:50

that they took away the

33:54

responsibility of actually

33:54

checking in and advocating for

33:57

me. And at the time, I really

33:57

wanted to stay in college and I

34:02

really wanted to finish that

34:02

course. But I also constantly

34:06

had the thought of Where's money

34:06

coming from? Where is my income

34:10

gonna come in from I am not

34:10

access, I'm not able to access

34:13

any bursaries. I'm not able to

34:13

access any grants, I don't have

34:17

that external support. And even

34:17

being on benefits is just not

34:23

going to help fund my lifestyle.

34:23

And I'm having to think about

34:26

well, with the miniscule

34:26

qualifications I currently have,

34:30

what salary can I earn? And

34:30

where can that take me? One of

34:36

the questions I'd love to ask

34:36

you both is if you are a Housing

34:40

Minister, what changes would you

34:40

make this could be, you know,

34:44

something small, it could be

34:44

something big or something that

34:47

would have personally helped

34:47

your situation.

34:49

Think recognition is something

34:49

that comes to mind. Being a

34:55

person being able to see beyond

34:55

a case beyond an a4 piece The

35:00

paper to look at you, despite

35:00

you, you happen to go through

35:04

maybe 70 cases a day, this is a

35:04

person's life. And that's your

35:09

job, you need to acknowledge

35:09

that this is a very real person

35:14

who's got a lot on the line. And

35:14

it's such a shame that you guys

35:19

have had to give up your

35:19

education and what sounds like

35:22

your dreams. And it's almost

35:22

like, they expect you to stay in

35:28

an education for you to access

35:28

forever support, but they're

35:32

doing everything they're

35:32

leaving, you know, choice.

35:38

I think it's important policy

35:38

makers that actually go and see

35:41

their work in action to actually

35:41

visit, visit different sides

35:45

visit, talk to young people, and

35:45

actually take an empathy led

35:48

approach, because when it's a

35:48

piece of paper, it's so easy to

35:51

just kind of tick boxes. And

35:51

when you actually meet that

35:54

human being, you understand,

35:54

actually, okay, not everyone is

35:58

able to do certain things, some

35:58

people's mental capacity may not

36:01

be able to take on what they're

36:01

taking on. And education is a

36:03

big part. But, you know, they

36:03

need to support you know, young

36:07

people especially like, because

36:07

the way I see it is that people

36:11

say, leave your home life at the

36:11

door. But in reality, that's not

36:14

the case at all. When we work,

36:14

school education. A lot of the

36:18

time young people are coming

36:18

into school, with circumstances

36:21

we have no idea about will never

36:21

be able to understand. And

36:24

instead of being supported,

36:24

they're being punished if they

36:27

misbehave if they act out. But

36:27

sometimes young people acting

36:30

out is the way of them oxen for

36:30

help. And I think it actually

36:34

took a minute to actually go and

36:34

see the young people to see the

36:36

accommodations to actually

36:36

understand like their history,

36:41

then they would make a different

36:41

judgement, a different approach.

36:43

Because if it was their child,

36:43

I'm sure they would try

36:46

everything to support them and

36:46

advocate for them. And if they

36:49

are corporate parents are they

36:49

not only have the duty to, you

36:53

know, look after us as they

36:53

would their own kid? Yeah,

36:56

I had the privilege to speak to

36:56

MP Jonathan Ashworth, a few

37:00

months ago, and that was in my

37:00

capacity as a youth ambassador.

37:04

And I was able to speak to him.

37:04

He's a shadow cabinet for DWP.

37:09

And we were speaking to him

37:09

about how the system is

37:12

currently set up. And the

37:12

requirements like you mentioned

37:15

earlier, different landlords,

37:15

private landlords have different

37:18

requirements and can set out

37:18

different rules and different

37:23

criteria. And I think for me,

37:23

one of the biggest barriers I've

37:26

had is the benefit system is the

37:26

fact that I've almost felt

37:30

criminalised socially, because

37:30

I'm on benefits. Like, there's

37:34

this big shame, yes, around it,

37:34

this this stigma that I carry.

37:40

And I think even being you know,

37:40

my property isn't a council

37:44

property. It's a it's a housing

37:44

association. And no one

37:48

explained the difference to me

37:48

what that actually meant the

37:51

difference between the Council

37:51

and Housing Association. And

37:54

even when it came to advocacy,

37:54

there's different they have

37:57

different responsibilities, your

37:57

local authority and a housing

38:00

association, I was told not to

38:00

bid on a property that has

38:05

service charges, because the

38:05

care team, you know, wouldn't,

38:09

they would just wouldn't allow

38:09

it because it would go on top of

38:11

the rent. And I would have to

38:11

pay for the service charges. And

38:15

it's only the sole net rent

38:15

that's covered. So I think

38:18

there's things that we need to

38:18

look at, because although I

38:21

received my property eight, nine

38:21

years ago, when I bid on it,

38:25

there was no service charges. As

38:25

of last year, there are now

38:28

service charges on that

38:28

property. And those service

38:31

charges are they go to

38:31

maintaining the upkeep of the

38:36

hallway, the lighting, fire

38:36

extinguishers and other things

38:40

like that. And when you do not

38:40

have a broad budget, or extra

38:46

money, or that rainy day fund,

38:46

that increase in rent, that

38:50

increase in in new charges like

38:50

that, there it takes food out of

38:57

your mouth and out of your

38:57

cupboards. And recently, I heard

39:00

something that just really

39:00

resonated with me, which was

39:05

there isn't one fix. There are

39:05

so many grey areas because

39:10

there's so many different shades

39:10

of grey. And I really, really

39:14

liked that because I think

39:14

sometimes when we speak to these

39:17

policymakers, they speak about

39:17

things in a one track mind. They

39:22

don't, you know, like I said,

39:22

Accra, you might have 70 cases

39:25

on your desk. These are not ones

39:25

and zeros. These are real

39:28

people. And if we don't have a

39:28

holistic a real person, people

39:35

facing approach, then we're not

39:35

going to be able to get rid of

39:39

these issues that we have. Now

39:39

when I tried to contact my local

39:42

authority about my rent or

39:42

different things. There is no

39:45

human for me to speak to because

39:45

there's no phone number, right?

39:49

But for now, the way my local

39:49

authority is set up in the past

39:53

year and a half, they've removed

39:53

the phone numbers. So I can't

39:56

even speak to a person or a

39:56

different person. They don't

40:00

Don't get back to you, I now

40:00

have to access the online

40:02

portal, which I have to make

40:02

sure I'm have access to internet

40:06

as well. And internet poverty is

40:06

very real for me, because I just

40:10

cannot afford to consistently

40:10

pay every month for my internet.

40:14

And it's not a priority in

40:14

comparison to some of that food

40:16

and water. And I think a lot of the time as

40:17

well, when we talk about

40:19

shopping and groceries, we don't

40:19

mention cleaning products. We

40:24

don't mention personal care, there's no education on how to

40:26

clean an assault, crude, right?

40:30

Because you'd expect that you

40:30

should know. But that's

40:34

dependent on how you've grown

40:34

up, did you have someone to tell

40:37

you to clean up after yourself

40:37

or not? Some people did it, some

40:39

people did. And have to live and

40:39

share a space for other people

40:45

who don't have the same personal

40:45

hygiene standards as yourself.

40:49

Or having to be that person who

40:49

can't keep up. It's, it's

40:52

difficult. On both sides,

40:52

there's no winning in that

40:56

situation. But it is, is as

40:56

simple as saying you should put

41:02

this much on use this product

41:02

sponge cloth, this one works

41:05

better. And that probably take

41:05

around 15 minutes, and give a

41:11

real life skill to an

41:11

individual. But it's not

41:14

acknowledged at all. I think it's also like cooking,

41:16

like, when I moved into my

41:18

accommodation, didn't know how

41:18

to cook, I burned the rice, I

41:21

had to go on YouTube, and we'll

41:21

find out how to cook rice.

41:25

Something as simple as turning

41:25

the oven on I didn't even know

41:28

what a difference to which so

41:28

the other men luckily freeze

41:30

like I do now. But these basic

41:30

things and also shouldn't be

41:33

safety issue because if you turn

41:33

on the wrong thing in the oven,

41:36

or you've got a fire hub

41:36

electric hob, that's also a

41:38

safety risk. So it's like even a

41:38

washing machine or certain pipes

41:42

go certain places. And I think

41:42

it's important that we have

41:45

young people have that basic

41:45

knowledge of you know, how to

41:48

cook, how to clean how to, you

41:48

know, run a household or how to,

41:52

you know, make their bed, how to

41:52

even you know, if you put dark

41:56

and light they're gonna get the

41:56

colours are gonna get mixed up,

41:59

no one tells you about a colour

41:59

sheet. No one tells you the

42:01

different water temperatures

42:01

mean, no one tells you what this

42:04

product does. And so I think

42:04

it's so important to have these

42:06

basic skills which should, which

42:06

should be shouldn't be a luxury,

42:09

they should be a priority. And I

42:09

feel so think in terms of

42:12

homelessness and why maybe young

42:12

people can't keep tenancy. Okay,

42:16

let me give example, when I

42:16

first moved into the service, I

42:19

struggled paying service charge,

42:19

I wasn't working at time, I was

42:23

finding it hard to get a job, I

42:23

didn't have a CV. So I was kind

42:26

of I was in arrears with service

42:26

service charge. And luckily, I

42:31

was moved to different combination. And they helped me pay it off bit by bit did a

42:33

payment plan. But if they

42:35

didn't, I would have been

42:35

homeless again. So the thing is,

42:38

I wasn't taught how to manage

42:38

budget or manage money. So then

42:42

some young people might get

42:42

kicked out or be evicted because

42:45

they can't manage their money. They've never had that much money in their life, or

42:47

Universal Credit. Depending, you

42:51

know, you might get sanction if

42:51

you miss an appointment, I was

42:53

in sixth form, they wanted me to

42:53

come to appointments, I'm on my

42:55

course I wasn't able to come I

42:55

was sanctioned. There was time

42:58

when I was pregnant, I had

42:58

morning sickness, I was woman

43:01

and I couldn't come by I was

43:01

sanctioned. I had no money for

43:04

the whole month. Luckily, I had

43:04

my sister to help and support

43:06

me. But that was scary having to

43:06

go off with 20 pounds the rest

43:10

of the month. And then my rent

43:10

wasn't paid. I was in arrears

43:13

for a whole year. And they took

43:13

money out of my benefits to pay

43:17

for it. And it was while I was

43:17

looking for jobs, like I was

43:20

trying, but I wasn't supported,

43:20

I was kind of just kind of left

43:24

to go. And it wasn't until I

43:24

took action last year to

43:27

actively seek out work. Because,

43:27

you know, at the end of the day,

43:31

you know, with the whole inverse

43:31

credit system is, you know, if

43:35

you can't live off of it, it's

43:35

not your 50 pound a week, I

43:39

mean, my guess I'm not sure it's

43:39

110 pound mom going up, my rents

43:42

gone up three times within the

43:42

last two years. So actually, you

43:45

know, the system doesn't really

43:45

say to help them support people,

43:48

but people are struggling, and

43:48

the money they're getting paid

43:50

is not enough. Or you know, and

43:50

I think it's important to help

43:53

support people into work and

43:53

also during and after and

43:57

understand that some people

43:57

might have chronic chronic

44:00

hidden disabilities, like you

44:00

were talking about mental health

44:03

issues, they might have a

44:03

traumatic thing happened to

44:05

them. But then exactly Oh child.

44:05

So please don't let people do

44:10

want to work, but they're not

44:10

supported to and so they might

44:14

lose their tenancy because

44:14

they're not having someone who's

44:16

going to help support them and

44:16

eat at the most. But if I

44:19

was actually in a position of

44:19

policy, some of the things I do

44:23

is I create a safety period for

44:23

Kellyville is particular because

44:28

because why is it that is the

44:28

first resort for a caregiver to

44:33

end up in such a dire situation.

44:33

For one, I'd create a safety

44:37

period where six months you can

44:37

claim benefits and you can work

44:41

and you can save up and that

44:41

over time becomes decreased so

44:46

you can build something and be

44:46

offered financial support. And

44:51

in terms of the actual

44:51

environment itself, I'd make a

44:54

requirement for the walls to be

44:54

white, the carpet to be a colour

44:58

that matches it. Have a nice,

44:58

neutral blind colour and a good

45:04

light that's at a plant. And I'm

45:04

sure that we can get someone to

45:08

like donate a plant, it wouldn't

45:08

cost a lot, even if we did pay

45:12

for it. But those sorts of

45:12

things. It's a start.

45:16

I totally agree with you. And

45:16

eight, nine years on, I still

45:19

don't have carpet in my home

45:19

because the force of the floor

45:22

space and the amount that it's

45:22

going to cost, I can't afford

45:26

it. So that is the position that

45:26

I'm in at the moment. I

45:29

completely agree. So it sounds

45:29

like it Keira for MP. Thank you

45:35

so much. Tom, what were some of

45:35

the main recommendations from

45:39

the research? I think, Well, I think you guys

45:41

could probably have written the

45:45

report much better than I could

45:45

have. We've heard about the

45:51

importance of stability, about

45:51

the importance of a home boasts

45:55

about the importance of like,

45:55

having the right supports, to

45:59

enable you to actually go and do

45:59

the things you want to do, you

46:01

know, thrive as a person. And

46:01

those are the kinds of

46:04

recommendations that that we

46:04

talked about in the report. So

46:07

obviously, in the report, we

46:07

say, you know, there needs to be

46:10

more social housing for that is

46:10

accessible for young people. So

46:16

young people, we know young

46:16

people are usually allocated to

46:19

kind of smaller properties like

46:19

one bed, so like studios. So

46:23

there needs to be more one

46:23

bedroom studios, the late in the

46:27

last year, one beds and studio

46:27

social housing with at least

46:31

developed in comparison to like

46:31

two beds, three beds, four beds.

46:36

So there's just a really small

46:36

pool of housing, social housing

46:39

that young people can apply for

46:39

or be allocated to. We know also

46:44

that local authorities are we

46:44

recommend that local authorities

46:47

make better use of their

46:47

existing social housing. A lot

46:51

of the time, social housing is

46:51

kind of left vacant for a while,

46:54

a lot of the time, you know,

46:54

people under occupy or even over

46:59

occupy their social housing. And

46:59

that acts as a barrier to young

47:03

people getting access to social

47:03

housing. We also really

47:07

recommend that, you know, the

47:07

kinds of support that you

47:10

mentioned, support around mental

47:10

health support around enabling

47:15

people in social housing to get

47:15

jobs, but jobs that they want

47:19

jobs that are meaningful to

47:19

them. And to kind of really

47:23

thrive in those jobs, we really

47:23

recommend that local authorities

47:26

do that for young people. And

47:26

we, you know, this when it's all

47:31

said than done, one of the

47:31

really important things is

47:34

actually you know, the amount of

47:34

money that young people have in

47:36

their pockets. So we recommend

47:36

that the universal credit rate

47:39

for under 25 years is made the

47:39

same as for over 20 fives. We

47:43

also recommend that young people

47:43

with experiences of homelessness

47:47

are excluded from paying paying

47:47

council tax. At the moment, a

47:52

young person in one borough

47:52

might not have to pay it by the

47:54

next borough, they do have to

47:54

pay it, which is unfair. We also

47:58

recommend that young people

47:58

living in supported housing

48:02

aren't disincentivize from

48:02

entering into the workplace,

48:05

peep young people living in

48:05

social housing at the moment,

48:08

there is a huge disincentive for

48:08

them to work because it really

48:11

affects their benefits and puts

48:11

them in and puts them at risk

48:14

getting into areas. Finally, we

48:14

really recommend that we start

48:19

to think more about providing

48:19

more options for young people.

48:24

So not just social housing, not

48:24

just private rented housing, but

48:27

what are the innovative housing

48:27

products that organisations like

48:31

centerpoint, but also lots of

48:31

other organisations can create

48:34

that young people can live in

48:34

and begin their careers and

48:37

start to develop themselves as

48:37

people as human beings. So

48:41

centre points Independent Living

48:41

Project is a really good example

48:44

of that is a project that

48:44

enables young people to grow and

48:48

develop and that and build up

48:48

the savings is what you were

48:51

talking about Tony, and you

48:51

know, actually the value of

48:54

having a rainy day fund so that

48:54

they can then go and lead

48:57

meaningful lives. So that's kind

48:57

of the gist of the report. But

49:00

obviously, people are more than

49:00

welcome to read. Read the whole

49:04

thing if they want to. I'm looking, looking very much

49:05

forward to reading it. Yeah, I

49:10

would love to take a look at it

49:10

as well. I just want to give you

49:14

all a massive round of applause.

49:14

Thank you so much for just

49:21

sharing your experiences and

49:21

giving us your time today.

49:25

Sadly, we have to bring the

49:25

discussion to a close, but I

49:28

want to thank all our lovely

49:28

panellists for taking part and

49:31

also to all our listeners and

49:31

viewers. Please subscribe, like

49:35

and share and read Tom's report.

49:37

If you want more information,

49:37

then visit our blog at

49:41

www.centerpointe.org/blog. Don't

49:41

forget Centerpoint offers free

49:48

advice via the centerpoint

49:48

helpline to anyone aged 16 to

49:53

25. who is homeless or at risk

49:53

of homelessness. Call us free on

50:00

Oh 808-800-0661 We're open

50:00

Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. You

50:11

can also leave us a message on

50:11

our website at

50:14

www.centerpointe.org.uk/youth

50:14

homelessness slash get help now.