Social Finance launches three social impact bonds to tackle youth homelessness

The social impact bonds will fund interventions for over 600 young people who do not have a permanent and stable home. Social Finance has raised £2.2 million from social investors to fund interventions delivered by three charities, Depaul UK, St. Basils and Local Solutions to provide intensive and tailored support to find the young people accommodation and get them ready to undertake training courses, begin work or go back into education.

There are approximately 60,000 young adults aged 18–24 in England who experience homelessness each year. The majority receive support from statutory services, housing associations and through existing supported housing. However the needs of the young adults who are homeless are often complex.

• Around 40% of homeless young adults are also not in education, training or employment
• Substance abuse and mental health issues affect around 1 in 5 young homeless people
• 73% of homelessness organisations indicated that there were not enough support services available for young adults with high support needs
• 6 in 10 homelessness organisations were unable to support a young person due to limited capacity last year

The 18–24 year olds who will be offered support through the social impact bonds, cannot be currently housed in state supported accommodation because of a range of issues, including a history of substance misuse, mental health problems and past evictions. None of the young people are in Education, Employment or Training.