Homelessness - Occasional Digest

NEWS TODAY

Warnings after care leavers face increase in homelessness

Nov 27, 2025 News Desk

Georgia RobertsPolitical Correspondent

Kerrie Portman slept in buses and public toilets after dropping out of Cambridge University

BBC Kerrie Portman sat on a park bench — Kerrie Portman slept in buses and public toilets after dropping out of Cambridge University

Young people leaving care in England face a sharper increase in homelessness compared to the population more broadly, latest figures show.

It comes after warnings the youngest care leavers face a “devastating care cliff”, which sees them losing support when they turn 18 and leave care, as well as difficulties with joblessness.

Children’s Commissioner for England Rachel De Souza told the BBC she was concerned the government were not providing care leavers with adequate long-term support.

The government said it was committed to “bold steps” to tackle homelessness.

The numbers of households with care leavers aged 18 to 20 threatened with homelessness in the past year increased by 9% on the previous year, and those already homeless and owed a relief duty grew by 6%.

On average in England among the general population, those threatened with homelessness increased by 0.3% and homelessness grew by 1%.

It follows a trend of homelessness among the youngest care leavers which campaigners say is growing more acute.

Last year’s figures show that homelessness among households with the youngest care leavers in England increased by 21%, compared to around a 12% more broadly.

A third of care leavers become homeless within the first two years of leaving care.

Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern said: “Everyone deserves a roof over their head, yet these figures show too many people are at risk.

“We are tackling the worst forms of homelessness and figures show we are reducing the worst forms of temporary accommodation with on-going reductions in B&B use.”

She pointed to the government’s Homelessness Strategy, saying the government was providing £1bn for social housing, and £39bn for affordable housing.

The Conservatives have been approached for a comment.

‘Terrifying’

Kerrie Portman has been homeless several times since she left care when she turned 18.

The 27-year-old was taken into care as a teenager having already experienced homelessness while under the care of her mum, who struggled with addiction.

Kerrie was in and out of supported and temporary accommodation, and children’s homes, where she says she experienced “severe abuse”.

She got a place to study at Cambridge University but, struggling to cope with a lack of support, she dropped out and found herself sleeping rough and going between squats.

“It was incredibly terrifying and incredibly traumatic and damaging,” she says.

“I didn’t have any sort of safety net, so I didn’t have any family to fall back on for support…being a woman I was obviously [also] more at risk.”

Kerrie would take long buses to avoid the streets, staying in McDonalds or sleeping in public bathrooms to try and stay safe – but still couldn’t escape abusive and violent situations.

She says that when it comes to applying for jobs, she is often dismissed for not having enough experience.

“I’ve never had the stability to be able to focus on work experience and that sort of thing, because when I’ve been experiencing chronic homelessness I’ve just been focused on survival.”

She is now completing an Open University course, her third attempt at sustaining study in higher education, and has had support in finding a suitable long term home.

But she fears for other young people who have had similar experiences grappling with life after leaving care, and the difficulties they face.

“All of the negative outcomes are rising. And then the more disadvantaged a person is, the more that leads to more disadvantage.”

Lack of safety net

While local authorities are legally obliged to provide some support for care leavers who leave the system at the age of 18, campaigners say the lack of safety net in terms of family, accommodation and other factors make them more vulnerable.

Clare Bracey, director of Policy, Campaigns and Communication at the charity Become, said the status quo was “unacceptable”.

“No child leaving care should face homelessness. At 18, they face a devastating care cliff where vital support vanishes and they’re expected to become independent overnight.”

Figures show 40% of the youngest care leavers in England aged 19 to 21 are not in education, employment or training – known as NEETs – compared to 15% for all young people in that category.

The government is concerned about the number of young people in this situation, and say the Youth Guarantee Scheme, which will offer paid work or apprenticeships to prevent long term unemployment among young people, will help those who have experienced care.

But there are calls from Labour MPs to keep in place some benefits for care leavers that the government have not committed to retaining as part of upcoming welfare reforms.

Last month, the education select committee called on the government not to cut the health element of Universal Credit for young care leavers as part of upcoming welfare reforms.

The government said no decisions have been made.

Rachel De Souza says she isn’t confident the government have an adequate strategy for long term support

Children’s commissioner Rachel De Souza said the state acted as parent for care leavers, and so on issues such as housing and benefits, they needed priority.

“I think we need to push really hard,” she said.

“I’m not confident…because Westminster is not very good at thinking about the long-term realities of young people’s lives when the fixes are not easy.”

She has called for priority in housing for the 50-60,000 care leavers between the ages of 17 to 21, and for benefits to reflect the fact that a care leaver needs to set up home and pay for bills.

‘Get the basics in place’

The Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales John Whitby has fostered 26 children

John Whitby sat in a meeting room — The Labour MP for Derbyshire Dales John Whitby has fostered 26 children

Labour MP John Whitby has fostered 26 children over two decades.

He has been pressing ministers to consider giving younger care leavers the same rate of Universal Credit received by those over 25, pointing out they would have the same obligations an older claimant.

But he also said he was worried about the “flat lining” of foster parents available.

“Obviously children who’ve been in care, they don’t do as well as regular children, but the longer they’re in foster care the better they do….something we’ve always tried to think about with the children who live with us is sort of that aspirational element,” he said.

He said he hoped some recent pilot schemes taking place as part of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, boosting the support network for care leavers for staying in accommodation and education, are rolled out across the country.

“If the basics are in place, then they’re not being evicted, then they can concentrate on the things they need to do, which is either get their education or training or job or whatever it is – much more aspirational things.

“You’ve got to have the basics in place.”

Source link

SHOW BIZ

Former Strictly star Anya Garnis fears Home Office mistake could leave her family homeless

Nov 17, 2025 News Desk

Anya Garnis, who shares two young children with her husband Sunna Van Kampen, recently tried to rent a property in Devon, but she was rejected from doing so because of a Home Office blunder

Former Strictly star Anya Garnis fears she may be left homeless after a Home Office blunder rejected her right to live in Britain.

The Russian-born Latin dancer started dancing at the age of 10 and began competing professionally with her dance partner, Strictly’s Pasha Kovalev, in 1998. The pair moved to the US in 2001 to start her professional dancing career.

They reached the final of the US Open Ballroom Championship on a number of occasions and have also appeared in US series So You Think You Can Dance. Anya, who is a US citizen, has performed at the Emmys and the Oscars and even headlined the Broadway show Burn The Floor.

The 43-year-old, who shares two young children with her husband Sunna Van Kampen, recently tried to rent a property in Totnes, Devon, but she was rejected from doing so because of a Home Office blunder.

Baffled by the situation Anya investigated and discovered the Home Office’s landlord checking system suggested she did not have permission to live in the country, despite being here since 2013.

The Home Office said her application for leave to remain may have been lost – rendering her ‘illegal’. Speaking to the MailOnline she said: “I was absolutely shocked and devastated. We have to leave the place we’re living now in a couple of weeks, but have been told we can’t rent or buy anywhere else.

“In effect, this will leave us homeless in Britain. If we leave the country, my visa application will be dismissed entirely, but we may have no choice.”

Anya came to the UK on a temporary UK visa in 2013 to work for Strictly. She married Mr Van Kampen in 2017 and they later had two children, now aged three and one.

Since 2013 Anya has lived in the UK on rolling temporary visas without any major issues until she applied to renew her permission last September.

After applying she heard nothing for months so chased her application up on the Home Office website which suggested her application was being processed. When she tried to call, they told her they couldn’t discuss individual cases on the phone.

Home Office guidelines state that applicants have automatic leave to remain while their applications are being processed, so she thought nothing of it. After applying again she was shocked to still be turned down by the LCS.

She said: “I can’t buy or rent a property, but I also can’t leave the country while I’m waiting for a decision. I know highly skilled Americans who have been forced to give up on a life in Britain and move back home because of this catch.”

The Home Office said it would not comment on an individual case.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

Source link

POLITICS

Mayor Bass lifts state of emergency on homelessness. But ‘the crisis remains’

Nov 5, 2025 Politics Desk

On her first day in office, Mayor Karen Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness.

The declaration allowed the city to cut through red tape, including through no-bid contracts, and to start Inside Safe, Bass’ signature program focused on moving homeless people off the streets and into interim housing.

On Tuesday, nearly three years after she took the helm, and with homelessness trending down two years in a row for the first time in recent years, the mayor announced that she will lift the state of emergency on Nov. 18.

“We have begun a real shift in our city’s decades-long trend of rising homelessness,” Bass said in a memorandum to the City Council.

Still, the mayor said, there is much work to do.

“The crisis remains, and so does our urgency,” she said.

The mayor’s announcement followed months of City Council pushback on the lengthy duration of the state of emergency, which the council had initially approved.

Some council members argued that the state of emergency allowed the mayor’s office to operate out of public view and that contracts and leases should once again be presented before them with public testimony and a vote.

Councilmember Tim McOsker has been arguing for months that it was time to return to business as usual.

“Emergency powers are designed to allow the government to suspend rules and respond rapidly when the situation demands it, but at some point those powers must conclude,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

McOsker said the move will allow the council to “formalize” some of the programs started during the emergency, while incorporating more transparency.

Council members had been concerned that the state of emergency would end without first codifying Executive Directive 1, which expedites approvals for homeless shelters as well as for developments that are 100% affordable and was issued by Bass shortly after she took office.

On Oct. 28, the council voted for the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would enshrine the executive directive into law.

The mayor’s announcement follows positive reports about the state of homelessness in the city.

As of September, the mayor’s Inside Safe program had moved more than 5,000 people into interim housing since its inception at the end of 2022. Of those people, more than 1,243 have moved into permanent housing, while another 1,636 remained in interim housing.

This year, the number of homeless people living in shelters or on the streets of the city dropped 3.4%, according to the annual count conducted by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The number of unsheltered homeless people in the city dropped by an even steeper margin of 7.9%.

The count, however, has its detractors. A study by Rand found that the annual survey missed nearly a third of homeless people in Hollywood, Venice and Skid Row — primarily those sleeping without tents or vehicles.

In June, a federal judge decided not to put Los Angeles’ homelessness programs into receivership, while saying that the city had failed to meet some of the terms of a settlement agreement with the nonprofit LA Alliance for Human Rights.

Councilmember Nithya Raman, who chairs the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee, said the end of the emergency does not mean the crisis is over.

“It only means that we must build fiscally sustainable systems that can respond effectively,” she said. “By transitioning from emergency measures to long-term, institutional frameworks, we’re ensuring consistent, accountable support for people experiencing homelessness.”

Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed to this report.

Source link

Warnings after care leavers face increase in homelessness

‘Terrifying’

Lack of safety net

‘Get the basics in place’

Former Strictly star Anya Garnis fears Home Office mistake could leave her family homeless

Anya Garnis, who shares two young children with her husband Sunna Van Kampen, recently tried to rent a property in Devon, but she was rejected from doing so because of a Home Office blunder

Mayor Bass lifts state of emergency on homelessness. But ‘the crisis remains’

You missed

Match of the Day: How Reece James produced a “perfect midfield” performance to help 10-man Chelsea hold Arsenal to a 1-1 draw

Sen. Cory Booker webs fiancee Alexis Lewis Newark and D.C.

Should Canada Become a “Porcupine State”? Why the Idea Has Not Emerged Before and Why It Matters Now

Antiques Roadshow guest ‘won’t sell’ heirloom despite staggering five figure sum

Occasional Digest