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.
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.
Want to donate to a food bank, or thinking about using one yourself? Here's everything you need to know about doing this safely during the ongoing pandemic.
So much of the Centrepoint health team’s work is carried out face-to-face with young people, meaning that, since Covid-19 took hold, it was essential for the team to pivot – and quickly – to a virtual way of working. Here's how they managed it.