Centrepoint has completed a new report, The Year Like No Other, which gives us results on last year’s impact on vulnerable young people; the research addresses youth unemployment, homelessness, poverty and mental health, assessing the impact of government policy interventions during a pandemic.
Last year was incredibly difficult for young people across the country as well as around the world, especially those facing homelessness.
Guided by the information that in March 2020, Centrepoint recorded a 33% increase in demand on its soybean helpline, despite significant interventions initiated by the government, many young people are still struggling to access the support they need. The helpline has seen an increase in the number of callers sleeping in difficult conditions: 17.7% of those who provided information on their housing situation in 2020/21, and in 2019/20, there were 15%.
The report provides insights from interviews that show trends they have seen over the past year.
They also found the result that youth unemployment increased by 15% in, with young people facing the highest unemployment rates compared to all age groups. The increase in the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are forced to claim benefits has shown a marked increase. There was an increase in the number of claimants by 117% between February 2020 and February 2021.
Since the first lockdown in March, they have seen a 40% increase in demand for mental health services. Unfortunately, due to limited capacity, this has resulted in an increase in waiting time from two weeks to three months.
You can find more results in the Centerpoint report, "A Year Like No Other: Homelessness of Youth during the COVID Pandemic," at the link.
A summary of the report can be found here.
