Every night Centrepoint provides a place to stay for over 500 homeless young people in its 15 London hostels, foyers and supported flats.

Every young person who enters a Centrepoint hostel provides us with information relating to their background and their reasons for becoming homeless. Here we outline some key statistics compiled from this information.

Each year, over 70% of the young people we see have slept rough

Each year, over 40% of the young people we see have no qualifications at all

32% of the young people we see have runaway from home aged 16 or 17

Over 80% of the young people we see left home due to ‘push factors’ – conflicts, family breakdowns, evictions, abuse

21% of the young people we assist have been looked after by a local authority

57% of the young people we assist are black or of ethnic origin, however only 5% of the total UK population are black or of ethnic origin

24% of the young people we see have no source of income, and cannot support themselves when they first come to us