Being homeless takes its toll on young people, putting them at risk of health problems.
Good health is the foundation on which they can build their confidence, skills and independence.
Good health is a huge part of finding a home, a job and becoming independent. We offer young people the support they need to look after their mental and physical health.
Inflexible appointment times, waiting lists and travel costs mean many homeless young people have negative experiences of statutory and community clinical settings and services. Many others may not understand their own complicated health needs. By providing an in-house health service, we give young people access to tailored support, where and when it suits them.
Our in-house health team of specialists work with young people on a range of issues.
Long-term talking therapy to help young people cope emotionally with the difficulties in their lives.
Advice and support to help young people manage and reduce their substance use.
Crisis support and advocacy for young people experiencing mental health problems.
Educating young people about diet and nutrition – helping them to take better care of themselves and to manage health conditions.
Support and advocacy for young people experiencing unsafe, unhealthy or abusive relationships.
Food insecurity is a problem nearly all Centrepoint young people face. To tackle this, the Dietetics Team came up with The Food Point – a social supermarket which provides access to healthy affordable food.
Bankuet are helping us provide food supplies to young people in need. They use donations to bulk purchase food at a wholesale price and deliver it to our services where it is needed.
Since March there have been more than 450 hardship food requests from young people – donate now to help us on our mission to stop young people going hungry.
Many homeless young people are nutritionally vulnerable, and have mental and physical health problems, including substance abuse. Our research explored the health concerns of homeless young people supported by our services.
Long term good health means that homeless young people are able benefit from our other programmes like education, jobs skills training and sport. Teams across Centrepoint recognise this and work together to build health support into all of the workshops and projects open to young people.
We give homeless young people the opportunity to complete their education, gain skills and prepare for a career.
Centrepoint gives homeless young people a place to stay while they get the help they need to move on to independence.
At all times, our overall goal is to prepare homeless young people to leave our services postively and live independently.
Good health is a basic necessity that enables young people to thrive, reach their full potential and succeed. Our ambition is to help Centrepoint young people engage in education and training, gain skills to get into employment and leave homelessness behind. In order to achieve this, we need to provide services and develop partnerships that promote health and wellbeing and encourage our young people to get healthy, stay healthy and lead fulfilling lives.
Take a look at our three-year strategy to see how we plan to do this.
Good hygiene has never been more important. But for the homeless, hygiene is a complicated issue. When you have no roof over your head, let alone access to warm running water, those cleanliness practices can be a challenge. This not only poses a risk to physical wellbeing, but can also affect mental health. Thankfully, hygiene kits for homeless people can make all the difference.
Centrepoint has been building a new, psychologically-informed, working environment with staff wellbeing at its heart.
Here, Senior Digital and Communications Officer Keir Forde, explains why and how we’re promoting staff wellbeing, and where we’ve got to in our first 12 months.
For LGBT History Month, we spoke to two former staff members about what it was like to work in Centrepoint’s Soho night shelter at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.