A man who found himself without somewhere to live after looking after his dying father has described how he managed to get his life back on track with help from Centrepoint after the council failed to support him during the housing emergency.

Kai, who is now 29, was aged just 12 when his mother and father split up, and he went to live with his dad.

Around the same period, his father received a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which meant Kai had to balance his schooling with ever-increasing caring duties.

From accompanying his father to hospital visits to assisting with everyday tasks, the bulk of the caring fell on his shoulders. He remembers thinking that he had to grow up very quickly.

As his father’s condition worsened, Kai became his primary caregiver. Then, a few months before his 18th birthday, his father passed away, leaving him by himself and, because his name was not on the rental agreement, without any secure place to live. His father’s death meant he had to cope with mourning, uncertainty about where he would stay and sudden self-reliance with little help available.

Eventually, he was given a spot in a Centrepoint Independent Living Programme property, where rent is limited to a third of what residents earn and assistance is provided to help young people handle their finances, keep jobs and sustain their tenancy.

He acknowledges how tough the ten years since have been, encompassing his father’s death and the shift to independent living. Throughout, he has tried to cling to what he describes as a positive mindset, concentrating on embracing his situation and discovering ways to progress rather than fixating on difficulties.

Kai says the initial phase in his one-bedroom flat was a significant shift as he got used to being on his own for the first time. Centrepoint offered hands-on help, including food vouchers, which he says made a considerable impact during his first year.

Eager to create a future for himself, he completed training in security and CCTV through youth employment schemes and eventually found employment in building security.

At 26, he relocated to his own property, a moment he describes as transformative. Having somewhere to call his own enabled him to concentrate on stability, routine and plans for the future.

Now Kai serves on Centrepoint’s lived experience advisory board, helping develop the charity’s assistance for homeless young people.

Looking back on his path, he says he has emerged stronger and more resilient. He says it has not been straightforward, but he kept moving ahead and that pressure creates diamonds.

His account emerges against a backdrop of a broader housing crisis. Centrepoint’s 2024/25 Move On report reveals over 130,000 young people are waiting for social housing, and at the present pace it could take more than six years to address demand even if no fresh applications were submitted.

Bradford Teenagers Premiere Self-Made Film Monster on the Big Screen

Eight teenagers from Bradford watched their efforts come to fruition this week when their independently created short film, Monster, was shown to a local audience for the first time.

The movie portrays how one deed can have consequences throughout a community, illustrating how unfavourable experiences can spread but also how a solitary good choice can alter everything.

Over a number of weeks, the group picked up practical abilities in narrative, collaboration and filmmaking and managed every part of the production themselves, penning the script, overseeing direction, performing in front of the camera and editing the finished result.

At one point, the young filmmakers encountered Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis and his son Ronan, who gave advice on developing stories and producing films.

The screening also marked the completion of Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards for the eight taking part. Three others are working towards Silver, with two more hoping to finish Bronze this year.

Matthew Sampson, Centrepoint’s Bradford operations manager, said the young people had demonstrated imagination and resolve throughout. The initiative received backing from Into Film, a charity that supports young people in learning through film, and Pocket Projects, which guided the group through technical production abilities.

One participant said it was thrilling to see something they had created on the big screen and that it proved that persistence could lead to producing something tangible.

For the teenagers, Monster was more than just a film. The screening gave them an opportunity to present their account to relatives, companions and the wider community and to witness what they could accomplish when they collaborated.

Housing Shortages Leave Young People With Fewer Options, Data Shows

(Image: Centrepoint)

Fresh research from the charity Centrepoint, financed by Nationwide Building Society, draws attention to mounting strain on England’s housing system, with young people encountering progressively fewer choices in both social and privately rented housing.

Charlotte Kensett, Director of Social Impact and Customer Experience at Nationwide, said the research showed how challenging it had become for numerous young people to locate somewhere they could genuinely consider home and that by partnering closely with Centrepoint, they wanted to assist young people in finding somewhere they felt secure and where they could begin reconstructing their lives with assurance.

Demand for social housing remains significant in relation to availability, with around 130,000 households on the housing register, although the gap between main responsibility and actual allocations has narrowed. One obstacle is the shortage of appropriately sized properties: only a quarter (24%) of homes have one bedroom, even though almost half of young applicants require this size.

Ella Nuttall, Centrepoint’s Research Manager, said the government were making encouraging statements regarding prevention and assistance for people facing homelessness, but it was boosting the volume of house construction, including suitable social housing, that would make a real difference.

Affordable private options are shrinking as well. Alongside broader reports of private landlords exiting the sector, the investigation discovered that the count of Houses in Multiple Occupation, frequently an affordable choice, has dropped by 10% since 2019/20.

Ella cautions that without increased housebuilding, too many young people will carry on experiencing homelessness and find themselves shut out of stable housing and the opportunity to move their lives forward. The full report is available at https://centrepoint.org.uk/move

Discrimination Leaving Young Renters Struggling for a Home

Fresh research from Centrepoint has discovered that young people throughout England are finding it hard to rent in the private sector. While soaring rental costs have been widely reported in recent years, the leading youth homelessness charity’s new study shows young people felt unfairly treated by landlords and letting agents when attempting to secure tenancies.

In a survey of young renters, a third reported experiencing this type of discrimination, with work status (37%) and ethnic or racial background (35%) cited as the primary causes.

Ella Nuttall, who oversaw the research for Centrepoint, said young people ought to be able to expect safe, stable housing as a given. She said it was the cornerstone for everything else in life and that without it, the likelihood of repeated homelessness, mental health problems and long-term disadvantage grew.

The research calls on government and local authorities to increase the availability of suitable social housing and enhance young people’s access to private rentals.