#PlanForThe136k open letter to Rushanara Ali MP

Dear Rushanara Ali MP,

We are writing to congratulate you on your appointment as Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness.

In this role, you have a unique opportunity to help end the spiralling crisis of youth homelessness. We, as 40 signatories from the #PlanForThe136k campaign, are contacting you to ask to work together to achieve this vitally important goal.

We were delighted to see a commitment in the Labour Party’s general election manifesto to create a cross-departmental strategy to end homelessness, and to see the announcement that the government will establish an inter-ministerial taskforce working to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. However, we know that young people’s needs must be specifically addressed in any homelessness strategy – otherwise too many young people will get left behind.

Last year 136,000 young people in the UK went to their council for homelessness support (Centrepoint 2023). That’s why we are calling for a #PlanForThe136k, a plan to end youth homelessness.

These are young people aged 16-25, at a time in their lives when they should be hopeful and excited for their future: starting college or university, getting new jobs, discovering their potential, and growing up to play their part in society. Instead, hundreds of thousands are finding themselves without the most basic of needs: a home. As a long-standing champion for young people, we know you will agree that this needs to, and can, change.

Young people often experience homelessness for different reasons to older adults, and they need different, tailored services to help them avoid or recover from homelessness. This is why the government’s new homelessness strategy must address the particular needs and experiences of young people.

Over half (54%) of people who were rough sleeping in 2020 experienced homelessness for the first time when they were under the age of 25 (MHCLG 2020). Many people get caught in a cycle of repeat homelessness, which means that if we can prevent people from experiencing homelessness when they are younger, we can potentially stop the cycle entirely.

We also know that youth homelessness costs the UK taxpayer £8.5 billion per year (Centrepoint 2023). Tackling this will not only support young people to thrive, but will further help to deliver the government’s missions to break down barriers to opportunity and to kickstart economic growth.

Over the past year, a collective of 140+ organisations across the UK have been campaigning for a cross-departmental government strategy to end youth homelessness. We have developed a policy checklist of actions the government should take to make a tangible difference for young people experiencing homelessness, including proposals that could be delivered in the first 100 days of government. We would be pleased to meet with you to discuss how this work can feed into the government’s strategy, and to enable you to hear from young people themselves about their views.

Casey, aged 19 with lived experience of homelessness, when speaking at Parliament representing Depaul UK earlier this year said, “We can end youth homelessness, we will end youth homelessness. At what rate? That’s for you to decide. See us for our potential, not our poverty.”

We look forward to supporting you in the delivery of this ambitious goal and strategy, and collaborating with you to end youth homelessness.

Signed by:

Leona McDermid, CEO, Aberdeen Foyer

Amy Heritage, Director of Marketing and Communications, akt

Suzanna Slavin, CEO, Ayr Housing Aid Centre

Katharine Sacks-Jones, CEO, Become

David Chaffey, CEO, BHT Sussex

David Nugent, Chief Executive, Canopy Housing

Diana Vlad, Chief Executive Officer, Carlisle Key

Seyi Obakin, Chief Executive, Centrepoint

Peter Gill, Director of Housing Care & Support, Citizen Housing

Fabia Bates, CEO, Clock Tower Sanctuary

Simon Virth, Assistant CEO, Community Campus 87

Dan Dumoulin, Director of Development and External Affairs, Depaul UK

Carol Gallagher, Chief Executive, Doorway

Bill Rowlands, Head, End Youth Homelessness Cymru

Carmen White, CEO, Evolve Housing + Support

Joel Lewis, CEO, Foyer Federation

Jo Carter, CEO, Glass Door Homelessness Charity

Jonathan Tan, CEO, Greater Change

Fran Darlington-Pollock, CEO, Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity

Dr Henrietta Blackmore, National Director, Habitat for Humanity GB

Jonny Whitehead, CEO, Herts Young Homeless

Ninesh Muthiah, Founder & CEO, Home Connections

Ursula Patten, Director, Key Unlocking Futures

Paul Morrish, CEO, LandAid

Frances Beecher and Sam Austin, joint CEOs, Llamau

Kerry Dowling, Head of Safeguarding and Support, Local Solutions

Pauline Daniyan, Chief Executive, London Youth

Dan Lawes, Co-CEO, My Life My Say

Phil Kerry, CEO, New Horizon Youth Centre

Natalie Petryszyn, Head of Young People’s Supported Accommodation, Oxfordshire Youth

Mark Simms OBE, Chief Executive, P3 Charity

Rachael Wilson, CEO, Rush House

Rich Grahame, Chief Executive, Settle

Jean Templeton, CEO, St Basils

David Smith, Chief Executive, Stepping Stone

Steven McIntrye, CEO, Stonewall Housing

Richard Gammage, Chief Executive, Two Saints

Ian Burks, CEO, YMCA East Surrey

Denise Hatton, CEO, YMCA England & Wales

Cassandra Harrison, CEO, Youth Access