The harsh realities faced by young Black people experiencing homelessness in London are laid bare in our new hard-hitting new report.
The research, which was possible thanks to the support of Oak Foundation, is the fourth published report from our Homelessness amongst Black and minoritised ethnic communities knowledge and capacity building programme and was led by research intern Christiana Ajai-Thomas (Roni).
Young Black people aged 18-25 years are disproportionately impacted by a lack of affordable housing, perceived racial discrimination and poverty which leaves them at heightened risk of homelessness. The research included interviews with young Black Londoners who are either currently or have previously experienced homelessness.
Two-thirds of those interviewed reported sofa surfing while over half had slept on the streets. Many cited racism and bias from landlords and letting agents as a major barrier to securing stable accommodation. All spoke of the immense toll homelessness took on their mental health, education, and employment prospects.
As one anonymous 21-year-old Londoner explained:
“It destroys you completely – mind, body and soul. The stress and instability made it impossible to focus on anything else.”
Conflict with family appeared to be the leading cause of homelessness, but this didn’t mean that the young people had trouble maintaining relationships; sofa surfing was commonly used as a means of avoiding rough sleeping, illustrating the strength of personal support networks. Familial abuse, overcrowding, eviction, job loss and discharge from foster care had also led to homelessness.
Heightened vulnerability to homelessness was found to be further exacerbated by negative experiences when applying for help from their local authority with service providers noting how a lack of resources has resulted in lowered expectations for acceptable housing.
Christiana Ajai-Thomas (Roni) said:
“Our findings lay bare the shameful reality that homelessness is not being experienced equally across society. Young Black people living in London are disproportionately impacted because of a toxic mix of racial discrimination, poverty and a severe lack of affordable housing.
“Those interviewed reported largely negative experiences of the statutory homelessness system including problems such as difficulty being believed, not receiving help until they were desperate but also, for some, a perception that they were being treated differently from their White counterparts.
“While the voluntary sector has compensated to some extent for the lack of provision from local authorities by attending to the emotional needs of young Black people, we now need a range of multi-faceted solutions which focus on the need for earlier intervention and long-term preventative measures. These include increased family support services and school-based programs to help families remain stable during difficult periods.”
The report makes a series of recommendations including holistic solutions that go beyond just providing accommodation – calling for greater resources for mental health support, substance abuse treatment, educational and employment assistance, and other wraparound services tailored to the full needs of young Black individuals.
By properly funding support services attentive to these realities, the report argues homelessness can be more effectively prevented and pathways out of homelessness made more accessible for young Black Londoners.
New Horizon Youth Centre is a charity supporting young people aged 16-24 who are facing homelessness or are unsafe in London. This includes a physical day centre, outreach services, housing support and a holistic health and life skills offer.
Meghan Roach, Director of Operations at New Horizon Youth Centre said:
“56% of the young people we see are Black, yet Black people only make up 13.5% of London’s population as a whole. At our day centre and out in the community, we see firsthand how personal and institutional racism affects young Londoners, from dealing with councils, landlords and social care, to navigating job applications and the education system. Young Black people are too often let down by and excluded from services. It is devastating, but unfortunately not surprising that Black people are massively overrepresented in homelessness.
“This report is a vital means of highlighting how young Black people experience homelessness, and how their sense of belonging and identity is affected by their experiences. London is a difficult city to navigate as any young person, but as the young people spoke about in this report, there are additional systemic barriers for those who are Black.
“Understanding these experiences by listening to young people is the first step to create the change that we need to see to give every young Londoner’s potential a home.”