Homes and Hopes

October 2016

Homelessness through the Eyes of Young People Research by Youth Homeless North East and Crisis Skylight Newcastle

Report by Adele Irving, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Sciences, Northumbria University

Acknowledgements

Our thanks and appreciation goes to the young people who participated in the research by sharing their views and experiences with us. Thank you to Crisis Skylight Newcastle, our partner in this project, and the artists. Also to our Regional Champions; Community Campus, Youth Voice (Your Homes Newcastle), Centrepoint and Barnardo’s. We would also like to thank our partners; Changing Lives, YMCA North Tyneside, Thirteen Group and Home Group Newcastle, for their contribution particularly in supporting the engagement of young people in the project.

We are grateful to Adele Irving, Senior Research Fellow at Northumbria University for her analysis of the data, and production of the report. We would like to express our gratitude to our funders The Millfield House Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, and The Northern Rock Foundation for their support in making our work possible. Thank you to Megan for producing the front cover artwork.

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Contents

Page 3 Executive Summary

3 Introduction

3 Findings

Page 5 Introduction

5 Project Overview

5 Methodology

6 Proposed Changes to Housing Benefit for Young People

Page 8 Findings

8 Experiences of Engagement with the Welfare System

8 Benefit Sanctions

9 Understanding of the Proposed Changes to Housing Benefit

for Young People

11 The Implications of Losing Housing Benefit

Page 16 Conclusion

Page 17 References

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Executive Summary

Introduction

In February 2016, Youth Homeless North East (YHNE) and Crisis Skylight Newcastle launched a collaborative research project into the knowledge, understanding and thoughts of young people affected by homelessness on the government’s proposal to remove the housing element of Universal Credit for some young people aged 18 to 21. The main rationale for the proposed change is three-fold: to reduce public expenditure on housing-related support, to incentivise young people to seek employment (whilst disincentivising welfare dependency) and to ensure that both young people who live at home and live independently are treated fairly.

The project involved nine facilitated workshops with 30 young people and the production of a series of artworks further expressing their experiences and views. It is hoped that this report and accompanying exhibition help to inform government thinking on the future entitlement of young people to housing-related support.

Findings

All but one of the young people (97%), were in receipt of Housing Benefit and had experience of homelessness.

The majority reflected negatively on their experiences of attending Jobcentre Plus (JCP) and making Housing Benefit (and other benefit) claims, linked to the physical environments of JCP, the process of regular engagement and perceiving that advisors do not understand the problems faced by young homeless people. Most problematic, however, were significant delays in the processing of new Housing Benefit claims and when transitioning on to Universal Credit.

Of 29 participants, 25 (87%) had had their benefits sanctioned at some point and most felt that the sanctions applied were unfair and unjustified.

There is much debate about the assumed impact of sanctions on the motivation of claimants to seek work. However, the workshop participants typically reported being highly motivated to work.

Several talked about a constant level of anxiety associated with the fear of being sanctioned and the adverse impacts of this on their mental health.

When sanctioned, young people typically reported receiving no or limited advice and guidance about the effect of this on Housing Benefit. As such, several unwittingly accrued rent arrears and one even became homeless as a result.

It was clear that being sanctioned presented the young people with significant challenges with regards to meeting their basic needs.

Typically, the young people had very limited understanding of the proposed changes relating to automatic entitlement to housing support under Universal Credit.

Several understood the government's desire to incentivise as many young people as possible to work and agreed that for some young people, the changes may help motivate them to seek employment. But most felt the proposed changes reflect a

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fundamental lack of understanding of the backgrounds, experiences and needs of some young people, the nature of local labour markets and issues of affordability.

For some, Housing Benefit provided them with a lifeline at a time of crisis and prevented, or took them out of, a situation of rough sleeping.

Some discussed having to leave the parental home as a result of relationship breakdown and the financial difficulties faced by some families.

Others emphasised the difficulties of securing work linked to a lack of qualifications and work experience, their capability to work in light of mental health needs and the scarcity of jobs where their projected income would cover their housing and other basic living costs.

All of the participants shared a concern about the impacts of the proposed changes on young people’s mental health and engagement in risky behaviours such as substance misuse.

Almost all living in their own tenancies said that without financial support, they would not be able to pay their rent, let alone utility bills or food.

Those living in supported accommodation feared that unless they are exempt from the proposed loss of entitlement for several years, they would be trapped living in supported accommodation or would be very reluctant to try to move.

Concerning survival strategies cited included going without food, turning to loan sharks, engagement in crime and sex work.

Others said they would forego socialising, purchasing personal belongings and paying non-household bills as a means of survival. However, there is a case to be made that maintaining contact with family and friends, having interests and being able to access the Internet and contact services are essential to wellbeing.

Several feared the impact of losing benefits on their ability to continue with education and their long term aspirations.

Having discussed the potential adverse impacts of the loss of Housing Benefit for young people, the participants urged the government to consider further the impacts on human capital and reflect upon whether the proposed changes will result in public savings.

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Introduction Project Overview

In February 2016, Youth Homeless North East (YHNE) and Crisis Skylight Newcastle undertook a collaborative research project into the housing experiences, fears and aspirations of young people affected by homelessness, with a particular focus on the role of housing-related benefits in their ability to access and sustain housing.

The objectives of the project were to:

Understand young people's experiences of claiming Housing Benefit

Explore and improve young peoples’ understanding of proposed changes to Housing Benefit for some young people; and

Consider the likely consequences of young people aged 18 to 21 not having recourse to housing-related benefits in the future.

It is hoped that the findings of the project help to inform government thinking on the future allocation of Housing Benefit for young people.

Methodology

The project involved two key stages. The first was nine facilitated workshops with young people aged 16 to 24 who had experienced or were at risk of homelessness. During the workshops, the young people were asked a number of basic demographic questions and questions relating to their understanding of Housing Benefit and the proposed changes to their entitlement to support, their experiences of claiming Housing Benefit, the importance of this to their ability to access and sustain housing and the potential impacts of losing Housing Benefit on their life chances. Support workers were present at the workshops to offer practical and emotional support to the participants, where appropriate. The workshop discussions were recorded using Dictaphones and notes were written up both during and after the workshops by the research team. Some young people also produced written thoughts during the sessions using ‘post-its’.

Following this, the young people were supported by artists to produce a series of original artworks, reflecting on their experiences and the potential loss of Housing Benefit. Through consultation with young people, it was agreed that an arts-based element to the project would better enable some young people to express their views than conventional social science methodologies. The artworks produced were showcased via an exhibition, which was launched in April 2016 and toured around various museums, art galleries, cathedrals, civic centres and public spaces. Elements of the exhibition are available for online view at http://youthhomelessnortheast.org.uk/what-we-do/homes-and-hopes/.

In total, 30 young people took part in the project, recruited via YHNE regional champions and eight homelessness charities across the region. Of the 30 participants, 17 (57%)

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were male and 13 (43%) were female. Most were said to be highly engaged in the project, welcoming the opportunity to have their views heard and fed to local and national policymakers.

Proposed Changes to Housing Benefit for Young People

Before considering the findings of the workshops, it may first be useful to provide an overview of the government’s proposed changes to the availability of housing benefits for young people and a critique of the government’s rationale for the changes.

Housing Benefit is financial support available to people living in the social and private rented sectors who need assistance with the payment of their rent. It is available to people on low incomes who are accessing other benefits or are unemployed. Since 2013, Housing Benefit (alongside Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance) has and is being gradually replaced by a new benefit, Universal Credit.

Expenditure on Housing Benefit by the UK Government in both the social and private rented sectors has increased exponentially over the last ten years, from £22.8 billion in 2009/10 (10.2% of all spending on benefits, pensions and personal social services) to £26.4 billion in 2013/14 (10.5% of total expenditure). This both reflects an increase in the Housing Benefit caseload, especially in the private rented sector, and a longer term shift in housing expenditure from investment to consumption subsidies. (Cole et al, 2015). It is not surprising therefore, that successive attempts have been made – particularly by the Cameron-led governments - to scale back Housing Benefit expenditure for working age tenants. These initiatives have involved a combination of: reducing Housing Benefit rates; changing the method for uprating and calculating Housing Benefit rates; and, limiting changing entitlement to Housing Benefit (Cole et al, 2015).

In the 2015 Summer Budget, the then Chancellor George Osborne announced the removal of automatic entitlement to the housing element of Universal Credit for some young people aged 18 to 21 who are unemployed and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, from April 2017 (see House of Commons, 2015). Some exemptions will be applied and are likely to include: vulnerable young people; those who may not be able to return home to live with their parents; young parents; and those who have been in work for six months prior to making a claim (House of Commons, 2015). However, how vulnerability will be defined remains unclear. Even when this is clarified, a report from Crisis warns that young person’s vulnerability is typically a highly dynamic, rather than fixed, state. Any system of exemptions is going to find it difficult to accurately monitor and respond to changes in young people's circumstances in respect of employment, housing, family relationships, health and wellbeing. Such a system will also be expensive to administer (see Cole et al, 2015).

The main rationale for the proposed change is three-fold: to reduce public expenditure on housing-related support, to incentivise young people to seek employment (whilst disincentivising welfare dependency) and to ensure that both young people who live at home and live independently are treated fairly (House of Commons, 2015). The extent to which the proposed changes will deliver savings to the public taxpayer, however, is disputed. Research by Cole et al (2015) assessed that only a minority of young people

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currently claiming Housing Benefit would have their entitlement withdrawn. Specifically, it is estimated that only one in eight claimants would be affected; equivalent to about 13,700 young people. This would result in a cost saving of approximately £74 million over the three years that the exemption will be phased in, equivalent to just 0.4% of the total annual spend on Housing Benefit in 2014/15. As such, the withdrawal of Housing Benefit entitlement for some young people is likely to save only a small amount of money, relative to the scale of current expenditure. What's more, leading national homelessness charities recently issued a joint briefing, indicating that up to 44% of young people living in homelessness services and many others who are unable to live in the family home up until the age of 21 could be affected by the proposal. As such, the changes could result in a significant increase in youth homelessness and so almost wipe out any savings to the taxpayer (Centrepoint et al, 2015). Research by Heriot Watt University (Shelter, 2015) estimated that a spike in homelessness could wipe out £115 million of the government’s £120 million predicted saving – leaving just a £3.3 million saving at best. However, only an additional 140 young people would need to become homeless before the policy would end up costing more than it saves.

The underlying narrative about incentivising work and disincentivising welfare dependency among young people is also open to criticism. The proposed change acknowledges the reality that a sizeable group of young people are in work and yet, are forced to live in the family home for longer than they would like due to a combination of high property prices and the need for substantial deposits to assume home ownership (Cole et al, 2015). But, it neglects the nature of reality for another group of young people who are unable to remain in the parental home. Latest government statistics show that 10,000 young people were accepted as homeless last year because their parents would not or could not house them. This can be due to parental bereavement, overcrowding, financial difficulties, relationship breakdown, abuse or moving away to access work. This suggests that for many young people, housing-related benefits are often a vital lifeline at a time of crisis and not a lifestyle choice (Shelter, 2015).

The proposed change also neglects the fact that many young people who have left home to look for work – and those who have been working and renting independently prior to losing a job – may need housing benefit for only a short period to help them stay near job opportunities. At present, just 85% of young people on Jobseeker’s Allowance find a job within twelve months. However, removal of Housing Benefit would put this at risk, and it would become much harder for those affected to find a stable home and rebuild their lives (Shelter, 2015). This is especially true in a context of high youth unemployment, where young people aged 18 to 24 are almost three times as likely to be unemployed than the general working age population (Watts et al, 2015).

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Findings

Experiences of Engagement with the Welfare System

All but one of the young people (29 of 30 or 97%) who engaged in the workshops were in receipt of Housing Benefit. All had experienced homelessness in the past, but at the point of engagement, roughly one third were living in supported accommodation and two thirds were living in housing association owned or had private rented tenancies.

Broadly speaking, the majority of young people reflected negatively on their experiences of attending Jobcentre Plus (JCP) and making Housing Benefit (and other benefit) claims. In the most extreme cases, young people described this as a ‘nightmare’. Several drew attention to the physical environments of JCP, referring to them as ‘nerve-wracking places’ and places where ‘everyone is nervous or upset’. Others did not like having to engage with JCP on a regular basis, saying the process makes them feel ‘depressed’ and ‘worthless’. One did not perceive JCP advisors to understand and be empathetic towards the problems faced by young homeless people. Most problematic for the young people, however, were significant delays in the processing of new Housing Benefit claims and when transitioning on to Universal Credit. Left without any recourse to public funds for prolonged periods of time (typically six weeks), the young people discussed feeling highly vulnerable in respect of their housing circumstances, having to rely on charity support as far as possible and going without basic needs where necessary. Similar claims have been made in a multitude of reports produced in light of welfare reform in recent years (see NEHTT, 2015).

Benefit Sanctions

Since the introduction of stricter conditionality requirements for work-related benefits in 2012, significant increases in the number of claimants being subject to benefit sanctions have been headline news in research reports and the media (see for example, Beatty et al, 2015). Of 29 participants, 25 (87%) had had their benefits sanctioned at some point and most felt the sanctions applied were unfair and unjustified. In one case, a young person had to make a new claim for Universal Credit, following a lengthy sanction. The combined effect of this was that the young person was left without any income for several months.

There is much debate about the assumed impact of sanctions on the motivation of claimants to seek work. The government advocates that sanctions will incentivise claimants to look for work. However, a lack of work ethics was not apparent among the workshop participants. While just one third (10 of 30 or 33%) were engaged in some form of education, training or employment, almost half (13 of 30 or 43%) were engaged in voluntary work and reported to be highly motivated to work. One, for example, said: ‘I am on JSA and want a job; there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do. I have applied for 30 jobs this month alone’.

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Much of the research evidence suggests that sanctioning does not increase motivation to work per se, but it does increase the likelihood of claimants making sure they comply with the requirements of their Claimant Commitment, in order to avoid being sanctioned (NEHTT, 2015). Indeed, several young people talked about this and the constant level of anxiety associated with the fear of being sanctioned. This is concerning in light of half of the workshop participants reporting to have mental health issues and it is perhaps unsurprising that several reported a negative impact of the new regime on their mental health. One young person said: ‘It keeps you in the mind-set of uncertainty, I am always aware I could be sanctioned if I don’t hit my job application quota. It definitely can cause mental health problems’.

When sanctioned, young people typically felt that very little was done to help them, particularly in terms of advice and guidance about how sanctioning affects Housing Benefit. Indeed, several young people had not been informed that being sanctioned would affect their Housing Benefit claim and that they must take action to have this reinstated. As such, they unwittingly accrued rent arrears during the sanctioning period and one even became homeless as a result. They explained:

‘I had never had issues with housing benefit until I was recently sanctioned. I didn’t know it would affect my housing benefit. It was weeks later when I found out I was in arrears. This was December 2015. I wasn’t even told I could get help with hardship allowance. My sanction was extended; I got in more debt and lost my tenancy at Christmas. I am now sofa surfing and running out of friends’

The young person went on to add that until becoming homeless, they had never considered how critical Housing Benefit was to them in terms of providing them with some stability in their lives. It was also clear that being sanctioned presented the young people with significant challenges with regards to meeting their basic needs. Often young people had to go without food. Another – a care leaver – was supported with leaving care vouchers temporarily, but these soon ran out. Turning to food banks was a common response of young people here.

Understanding of the Proposed Changes to Housing Benefit for Young People

Typically, the young people engaged with had very limited understanding of the proposed changes with regards automatic entitlements to housing support under Universal Credit. As such, a key focus of this section of the workshops was explaining the proposed changes (including likely exemptions) and the government’s rationale for these, to the participants.

Upon reflection, several young people understood the government's desire to incentivise as many young people as possible to work (and at the same time, disincentivise a dependency on welfare) and even agreed that for some young people, the changes may help motivate them to seek employment. For example, one young person said ‘It could potentially motivate you to get jobs’, while another said that if the change came in, ‘I’d take whatever job I could’. Rather concerning, however, was some young people's

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perception that the government was introducing the changes because of their view of young people as wilfully idle and responsible for their situation, so undeserving of support. One young person said: ‘I understand that the government and public hate us and think we leech when they watch Benefit Street and stuff’. Another speculated that the public perceive many young people in similar terms and feel they have ‘a life of riley’, when accessing benefits.

Most of the participants, however, were strongly of the persuasion that the government’s rationale represents a fundamental lack of understanding of the backgrounds, experiences and needs of some young people, the nature of local labour markets and issues of affordability. For many of the young people at the workshops, Housing Benefit has provided them with a lifeline at a time of crisis and prevented, or took them out of, a situation of rough sleeping. One participant recalled a night of rough sleeping in the winter, where it was so cold, they did not know if they would survive the night so slept in public view instead of somewhere concealed. Thankfully, they were spotted by an outreach team and because of the availability of Housing Benefit, were supported to access a hostel. They said:

‘On this night, I was approached by an outreach team and ended up being able to stay somewhere for the night. I was then put into a hostel. That night saved my life. Without housing benefit, I think I would have died in the cold. It’s so important for people like me to get this support’.

Some discussed having to leave the parental home as a result of relationship breakdown and said that returning home is just not an option for them. One young person said: ‘There is no way I could go back to my mothers. That’s a terrible option for both me and her. It wouldn’t be safe’. Another drew attention to the financial difficulties faced by some families and said, ‘Not everyone has circumstances where they can go home or stay at home. What if families can’t afford for you to go home or stay at home?’.

Several emphasised how difficult it is to be young, homeless and reliant on benefits. Talking about the daily challenges associated with this, one young person explained: ‘No one understands unless you have lived it, how can you? The people making these changes have never had to deal with anything like this’, while another said, ‘I think people think we are living the life of riley. I get £60 per week to live. That’s everything I have. I’ve got mates that are not homeless spending that a week on a night out or a Xbox one game’.

Others emphasised the difficulties of securing work linked to a lack of qualifications and work experience, their capability to work in light of mental health needs and the scarcity of jobs where their projected income would cover their housing and other basic living costs. Some of the comments here included:

‘I have worked on and off since I was 16, I still get turned away from jobs for not having enough experience’

‘I’ve been looking for jobs for years, I apply for 20-30 jobs a week, I’ll literally apply for out’

‘It’s took me 3 years to try and get a job, that’s a 3 year gap in my CV, it doesn’t look

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good’.

‘How do you get experience when you’re not given a chance?’

At one of the sessions, some young people also commented on the perceived scarcity of jobs available to them as a result of high level of immigration and refugees coming to the country. Many had heard reports in the news, press and on social media reporting that people from abroad were taking all of the low paid, low skilled jobs in the country than once would have been available to them. But, when questioned, it became clear that they were unaware of the details or accuracy of the news headlines. Following this, YHNE agreed to organise a workshop for young people on issues of immigration, asylum seekers and refugees, welfare conditionality and racial stereotypes.

The Implications of Losing Housing Benefit

All of the participants shared a concern about the impacts of the proposed changes on young people’s mental health, which for many, is already fragile. Indeed, half of the participants (15 of 30 or 50%) reported problems of anxiety and depression. A sample of the feedback here included:

‘I would just be thinking, what am I meant to do now?’

‘I already have mental health conditions and am on DLA. It would increase my problems and anxiety’

‘Stressed, depressed, suicidal, make you want to jump off bridge’

‘If I am honest, I think I would kick off, I would smash my room up’

‘I would feel totally panicked. I was sanctioned and got myself in arrears as my Housing Benefit was stopped, I was totally freaking out, couldn’t sleep and that was just for a couple of months. How would I feel if this was forever? I’m scared to even think about it’.

Because of this, the participants also thought it highly possible that the removal of Housing Benefit could result in higher levels of drug use by young people, with substance misuse often a means of escapism for housing, financial and other problems. One young person here explained: ‘They may think that is will stop people using their cash on drugs or whatever, but if people can’t pay their rent, people will use drugs more to try and get away from their problems’.

Furthermore, almost all of the participants living in their own tenancies said that without financial support, they would not be able to maintain their tenancy. Some said they would be forced to look for somewhere else to live, which could have implications in respect of access to work, training, services and social support networks. Others, without the option of turning to friends and family for support, feared that they would become homeless once again. Typical comments from young people here were:

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‘Without it, there is no way I could afford my rent’

‘I wouldn’t be able to live at my home anymore. I would be sofa surfing at best! More likely, I would be on the streets. I’ll not go back to a hostel’

“Housing Benefit covers all my rent. It’s the only way I have a house, without it I am lost. I have no family or friends to rely on so I could only sofa surf for a couple of days before I run out of options’

‘I would be homeless’

‘If housing benefit was removed, there is no way I could afford to live in my current

home’.

Meanwhile, those living in supported accommodation feared that unless they are exempt from the proposed loss of entitlement for several years after moving on, they would be trapped living in supported accommodation or would be very reluctant to try to move.

Some, for example, said:

‘The removal of housing benefit would affect me when I want to move on out of the hostel. I couldn’t then afford to live anywhere and I would be going back around in circles becoming street homeless and then ending back in the hostel when I would be able to get housing benefit’

‘I wouldn’t be able to move on and would be desperate to stay in a hostel where I know I can still receive HB’

‘It would prevent me moving out of supported accommodation [where I am now] as I couldn’t afford to live anywhere else, but that takes a space someone else might need’

‘It will not motivate me, in fact the opposite, I will try and stay in a hostel, even though I hate being here, at least I have a roof over my head’

Equally, however, young people expressed anxiety about the idea of prolonged stays in supported accommodation, drawing particular attention to levels of peer pressure within young people’s hostels to engage in risky behaviours, such as substance misuse.

More generally, the young people explained that for them, having a home means a place of safety, stability, privacy, somewhere to meet their basic needs such as eating, washing and sleeping, and somewhere to relax and socialise. All agreed that if their Housing Benefit was removed, they would not have access to accommodation which represents a ‘home’.

Positively, all of the participants appeared to be highly responsible in respect of money management and said they would prioritise the payment of rent and utility bills, ahead of socialising for example. Of concern, however, some young people said that without Housing Benefit, they would not be able to afford their utility bills or to feed themselves,

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while others considered that a positive strategy to help meet their housing costs and utility bills would be to forego spending money on food. Comments here included:

‘I just wouldn’t eat’

‘I would be really worried about having, no lecy (electricity), no gas, no food. I just couldn’t survive’

‘I often live on smart price curry sauce sandwiches now, it’s like 14p from Asda for a jar and I put it between some bread. I am on Housing Benefit now. How am I going to live after it’s removed?’

“I wouldn’t be able to feed myself or my cat as I would be putting everything into trying to keep a roof over my head. My social life is nearly non-existent now. I would literally not be able to do anything when housing benefit changes comes in’

‘I can only just afford to pay bills now, so I wouldn’t be able to afford it without housing

benefit’’

‘With the removal of housing benefit, I would struggle with food…and I can’t afford to heat my home now and I am on housing benefit’.

Another felt that their only option would be to try to secure money from a loan shark. They explained that they, alongside many young people in their situation, have poor credit histories and no family to turn to so would have no other legal options through which to secure money to make up shortfalls in rent and living costs, in the absence of benefits or a well paid job. One said: ‘We might have to lend money from people or Wonga and be forced to pay back twice as much’.

Aside from providing them with shelter and a means of meeting their basic needs, it was clear from the workshop discussions that housing was integral to some of the young people's lives in terms of providing them with a sense of ontological security and the stability needed to focus on improving their education. One young person explained that despite struggling financially to meet utility and food costs, knowing that they ‘had a safe place to stay’ was a huge relief to them. Following leaving the family home aged 16 due to relationship breakdown, another young person had been living in semi-supported accommodation and been able to complete a college course and start a university degree. Without Housing Benefit, they are unsure about whether they could afford to finish their degree. Another young person felt they would not be able to even start thinking about their future until after the age of 21 if the changes came in as they would need to focus all of their attention on day-to-day survival. Supporting this, one support

worker agreed, ‘it’s difficult for young people to keep the long term goal in mind, especially when they can’t see past the next pay’.

A more heavily recurring theme in terms of impact was (re-)engagement in offending behaviour. Several young people felt that the only way to maintain their current situations would be to shoplift, for example, while others – speaking more generally – predicted that survival crime will spike if the proposed changes are brought in. For some young people,

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a return to offending behaviour would be a huge setback in their lives after working hard to desist from engagement in crime. Feedback here included:

‘I will have to go back to stealing as that will be the only way I could eat, crime will go up in a lot of areas’

‘I’ll be completely honest, when I have seen people with far more than they need at a cash point, I have been tempted, really tempted. I am struggling to buy a packet of crisps and they are getting £200 out. I have never done that but I know how easy it would be, grab it and run’

‘think I would be forced to commit crime, I couldn’t go back on the street’

‘If Housing Benefit was removed, there’s no way I could legally pay my rent. I know what I would have to do to keep a roof over my head. If I am being totally honest I would sell drugs. It’s the only way I could afford it and still be able to stay in education’

‘I know what I would do for clothes. This is what I used to do when I was on the street. Once a month, I would go to [name of shop], go in the changing room and try on a new pair of jeans. I would leave my old ones behind and hand them into the staff. This was the only way I could ensure I had something clean every now and then. It also helped because I was losing so much weight’.

Others stated that they would be likely to commit crime in order spend time in custody or jail, if they were faced with homelessness as a result of losing Housing Benefit. They said: ‘I’d just try and go to Jail, at least that way I’d know I’d be safer, I’d be warm, I’d have food. It’s better than being on the streets’. Linked to this, others feared that more young people would turn to or be forced into sex work, in the event of losing Housing Benefit. Comments here included: ‘People may be forced into prostitution’ and ‘I know someone who was evicted from most hostels in [name of place]. She would then sneak into hostels and stay with males. I know she had sex with a lot of these. I don’t know if that was the price for staying the night, but it makes you think. At the end of the day having a safe place to stay and shelter is so important’. Again, these findings have been reported in previous regional studies on welfare reform and homelessness (see NEHTT, 2014; NEHTT, 2015). While it is commendable that young people faced with losing their Housing Benefit would prioritise the payment of rent and utility bills over socialising, purchasing personal belongings and non-household bills, some participants were anxious and upset at the thought of not having sufficient money to afford mobile phones, train tickets to visit their families and access to leisure centres. However, there is a strong case to be made that maintaining contact with family and friends via texts and phone calls, spending time together, having hobbies and interests and being able to access the Internet and contact services are all essential to wellbeing and sacrificing these things because of insufficient resources could have a negative effect on the young people's emotional wellbeing and mental health, which may in turn impact adversely on their behaviours, engagement in education, training and employment and housing circumstances.

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Having discussed the potential adverse impacts of the loss of Housing Benefit for young people (no least, increased mental health problems, homelessness, longer stays in supported accommodation, substance misuse, criminality and sex work) and the consequences of this for public services and third sector organisations (notably, local authorities, the police, the NHS, drug treatment services and homelessness charities), the young people urged the government to further reflect upon whether the proposed changes will result in public savings.

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Conclusion

While it was beyond the scope of this research to provide a robust assessment of the potential impacts of the proposed changes to Housing Benefit for some young people aged 18 to 21, the views of the young people captured in this report nonetheless make an important contribution to the body of larger projects being undertaken on this issue.

Firstly, the views of the young people can be seen to further refute government rhetoric that young people are unmotivated to work and comfortable with a reliance on welfare. On the contrary, the young people engaged with reported being highly motivated to work and made clear that their temporarily reliance on welfare is the result of circumstances rather than choice. This is also reflected in the ‘Home and a Job’ research (YHNE).

Secondly, the experiences of those engaged with add further weight to the point that many young people are unable to remain in the family home until the age of 21. Some of the young people who took part in this research had been forced to leave and stressed that returning home was not an option for them. This confirms that the withdrawal of Housing Benefit entitlement for them would not provide parity with those who do not receive it. Instead, it will simply serve to reinforce their vulnerabilities.

Thirdly, the views presented further highlight the importance of Housing Benefit to young people in respect of emotional health, the avoidance of risky behaviours, desistance from crime and importantly, engagement in education, training and employment and efforts to make a positive contribution to society. Without a safe place to stay, many of the participants would not be able to focus on long-term goals and aspirations. Linked to the above, the findings suggest that the removal of Housing Benefit for young people will likely have an adverse effect on health and wellbeing, education, employment and critically, the housing circumstances of young people, with an associated impact on young people's contact with public services and third sector organisations.

In this light, the young people who contributed to the research urge the government to reconsider the human behind the cuts and the detrimental life impacts that the removal of support will have on disadvantaged young people.

Homes and Hopes: Homelessness through the eys of young people | Page 17

References

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homelessness: a scoping report,

http://www.crisis.org.uk/data/files/publications/Sanctions%20Report%202015_FINAL.pdf

Centrepoint, (2015), Access to housing benefit for 18 to 21 year olds, briefing note,

http://www.mungos.org/documents/6402/6402.pdf

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Shelter (2015), Slipping through the safety net What happens when you cut housing

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Homes and Hopes: Homelessness through the eys of young people | Page 19

For more information:

www.yhne.org.uk

info@youthhomelessnortheast.org.uk

@YouthHomelessNE

facebook.com/YouthHomelessNorthEast

linkedin.com/YouthHomelessNorthEast