Breaking the cycle of homelessness for care leavers

Rising bills, loan repayments and rent arrears are just some of the challenges faced by young people leaving the care system across London every year. However stable or otherwise life has been up to that point, the sudden need to handle the challenges of the adult world without support can be crippling. Care experienced young people face an uncertain future as they not only leave the safety net of the care system but also have to navigate providing for themselves and surviving what's ahead.

Today marks the start of National Care Leavers Week (28th October to 3rd November) as part of a month of focus on the challenges of growing up as a care experienced young person. Our fourth year of the Youth Futures Fund awarded £395,000 in grants to innovative community organisations helping care leavers in London thrive when they transition from childhood to adulthood. The fund included £150,000 of matched donations from CCLA Investment Management and was a part of a national programme of support and funding for care leavers.

One of these organisations is Settle Support. Based in both Lambeth and Croydon, Settle Support help care-experienced young people to avoid eviction and homelessness. Through weekly coaching sessions young care leavers learn about sustaining a tenancy, developing practical life skills and managing emotional wellbeing. Settle Coaches take an approach that is holistic, flexible and tailored to an individual’s changing needs – ultimately providing a consistent, transformative relationship a young person can rely on. The Youth Futures funding will cover part of the salary of one Settle Coach, delivering intensive support for 75 care experienced young people, across Lambeth and Croydon, through 675 hours of support over three years.

By empowering care-experienced young people to make long-lasting changes and build stable lives, Settle Support are breaking the cycle of youth homelessness in the UK. They are journeying with and changing the lives of hundreds of young people, just like Noah...

Noah joined the Settle Programme and started working with his Settle Coach, Alice, shortly after leaving care and moving into his flat. Having left his job, Noah found himself struggling to afford his utility bills and maintain repayments for loans he had taken out previously. He started claiming Universal Credit, but quickly fell into rent arrears anyway. Accumulating debt, and receiving warnings of debt enforcement, Noah was struggling with his mental health and was unable to make the full-time transition into independent living.

But Noah's story doesn’t end there. Over the course of the next 6 months, and with Alice’s support, Noah created a monthly budget to work out what repayment plans he could afford, and regularly communicated with his creditors. He applied for the grants to which he was entitled for flooring, and to furnish his flat properly. Through Settle’s mental health support service, he was able to access therapy, which helped him to ‘understand why I feel the way I feel and do the things I do.’

By the end of his time on the Settle Programme, Noah had set up repayment plans for all his debts and cleared his rent arrears. He’d also secured his dream job, at a restaurant that he’d always wanted to work for. Finally, he was able to move into his flat full-time, now confident in his ability to manage on his own.

Reflecting on his experience, Noah says that, “With Settle's support I started to view my flat as more than just storage space. Now, I adore it. It's rugged but charming. It's my humble abode. I actually look forward to going home now - I can't wait. There are no arguments there. And I can actually sleep…"

"I feel more ‘whole’ than I have in a very long time… You've supported me all the way and that's all I can ask for.”

Noah is just one of many young Londoners who are being supported to thrive when they move from childhood into adulthood. The London Community Foundation is proud to use the Youth Futures Fund to provide hope and a future for care-experienced young people across the city. We look forward to supporting even more of London's young people through future rounds of the fund. If you or your company would like to donate to the Youth Futures Fund, you please get in touch on philanthropy@londoncf.org.uk.