Temporary and Exempt Accommodation costs London Councils over £650 million per year. Approximately 20% of those in temporary accommodation are single person households aged between 18-30.
There can be a huge range of factors that lead to young people residing in temporary or exempt accommodation. For example, many young residents of temporary accommodation are care experienced or have spent time in custody. In exempt accommodations rents rents are very high as they are exempt from benefit caps. This has the effect of locking residents out of the legal economy, as the minute they enter work they become liable for a significant portion of the inflated rent due to the housing benefit taper rate.
In the UK the average person moves out of their family home aged 25. Therefore, we can assume most people do not develop the financial resources or independent living skills to obtain and retain a tenancy until their mid 20’s. For those with multiple disadvantages the barriers often seem insurmountable, particularly when the high rents in their temporary or exempt accommodation limit their ability to work.
Having worked in violence reduction and homelessness for many years we recognise insecure and poor quality housing is a significant driver for mental health issues, serious youth violence, offending and long-term unemployment.
Keep It Moving aims to bring together youth work and housing expertise to support young people to move away from homelessness. Our projects can support local authorities reduce dependency on high cost temporary accommodation and prevent repeat homelessness in young people.
We offer a 6-month intervention of wraparound support including
· Employment support
· Budgeting & Income Maximisation
· Searching for PRS Accommodation
· Attending Viewings
· Safety Planning in the New Area
· Problem Resolution
· Resettlement
· Independent Living Skills
· Support with Flat Sharing
The aim is to move young people in exempt accommodation in to more affordable private rented accommodation that will enable them to work full time and move away from homelessness.
Our innovative youth homelessness prevention model aims to address the root causes of youth homelessness. We take a holistic approach combining specialist housing support with systemic family therapy, mentoring and employability support.
By identifying young people at risk of homelessness at an early stage and providing targeted support to them and their families, we can reduce young people having to present at a council as homeless and help young people develop the skills to avoid repeat homelessness.
Alongside our direct work with Young People we also offer training to professionals who work with young people on Housing Legislation, Homelessness Advocacy and Tenancy Sustainment We can provide consultancy for Supported Housing Providers & Local Authorities who wish to improve their move on rate. Delivered by experienced youth work and housing professionals
Contact us to find out more about our training and consultancy packages
While our support can help individuals to progress from temporary accommodation, we recognise the current housing model is inherently flawed and exploitative. We want to empower young people to use
there lived experience to build solidarity and collaborate with those in similar situations to challenge the systems that oppress them. We reinvest our profits to bring about sustainable change in the housing sector