What we offer

Practice and provision

Every year we provide over 290,000 nights' accommodation to Britain's young homeless. We work directly with more than 800 young people each day.  Since 1969 we have helped more than 73,000 young people.

Based on what we learn from our own work with young people, we research and influence public policy. We advise local agencies and local councils across the country. We enable people of all ages to help tackle youth homelessness by giving time and money, and knowing about homelessness. All that we do is rooted in our Support and Development approach to actual practice with young people, and our Foundations for Life approach to our provision. Our goal is to help them become resolute, resourceful and resilient.

About Support and Development

Our work is about much more than just shelter. We support young people to help them  turn their lives around, and develop to their potential. Our aim is to give them the power to regain control of their lives, to give them back their future, and for that future to be brighter.

Centrepoint is the place homeless young people can call home. We do provide a safe place to live. But we offer the caring relationships and sense of belonging that go with being 'at home'. We offer health care and teach them life skills. We help them manage money. We give them educational and employment support. We enable them to contribute to the communities they are part of.

Almost all are between 16 and 25 years old. When we first meet them, all are homeless or at serious risk of becoming homeless; many are on a downward spiral. Almost half say they have slept rough at some point in their lives.

Those who make their homes with us and who we support come from a wide variety of backgrounds and nations. Many have experienced domestic abuse, family breakdown, poverty, and increasingly, the harsh reality of knife crime. Some are 'in care' with the local council, or have been. Some are ex-offenders. Some are single parents. Many must tackle mental health problems. Some depend on drugs and alcohol. About a third have problems reading, writing and communicating.

So we he help each individual in various ways, responding to the whole person and all aspects of a life. First, we provide accommodation which suits a young person’s particular needs and situation. People can make a home with us for as little as a week or up to about two years.

But we offer much more than just shelter and accommodation. We use our award-winning ‘Support and Development’ approach to help young people tackle many different  personal, social, educational and work problems. We help them create the foundations they need to shape their own future, and to be resolute, resourceful and resilient.

As a national charity dedicated to ending youth homelessness, we work also with local authorities and partner organisations across the country – working to understand youth homelessness better and learn from each other how best to tackle and prevent it.

We research specific issues, with such partners as York University. We work to influence practice, policy and provision based on the evidence of what we and others do.

Providing Foundations for Life

We help young people create the foundations they need for a brighter future - the foundations for life. Our partnership with LandAid combines our experience of creating life-changing services for homeless young people with the property industry’s capacity to provide vital practical and financial contributions.

LandAid provides funding to upgrade and create spaces in our accommodation dedicated to young people’s preparation for their future life and work. LandAid also funds staff and volunteers who focus on personal support and learning, so every young person develops practical, social and vocational skills for life and work.