We are thrilled to announce the launch of our latest report: The Voices of Supported Lodgings: Strong foundations for our future.

Our report launch marks a significant milestone in our work advocating for the strengthening of supported lodgings. It’s a journey that began around five years ago, back in 2019, when media stories highlighted that many children in care and care leavers were being accommodated in entirely inappropriate accommodation.

Since then, we have been advocating for the expansion and strengthening of supported lodgings, believing this provision to be highly suitable for three cohorts of young people who often overlap in experiences, yet also remain distinctive:16–17-year-olds and care leavers; young people at risk of homelessness; young people seeking asylum. 

The Voices of Supported Lodgings was co-produced with young people who have lived experience of supported lodgings. We hope that this report will amplify their voices and encourage policy and practice developments to align with young people’s priorities and needs.

Key findings:

The report found that overwhelmingly young people have positive experiences living in supported lodgings:

• 84% of young people told us that supported lodgings feels like home.
• 90% of young people told us they feel more confident in their ability to live independently as a result of their time in supported lodgings.
• 92% of young people feel safe from exploitation or being taken advantage of in supported lodgings.
• The longer a young person is in supported lodgings, the more likely they are to be in education, employment or training.

Young People’s Voices:

Here are some insights from young people who have lived experience of supported lodgings:

I’m able to cook, I’m able to do my laundry, I’m able to do all this stuff, whereas if I hadn’t been in supported lodgings, I wouldn’t know how to do most of these things.”

I’d say it’s made me a lot more independent as a person, a lot more comfortable in myself.

My mum is very kind, and that’s related because [my host], the way she’s treating me, reminds me of my mum. She shows me kindness, worries if I’m not eating well or going to bed late, and always considers my wellbeing. [My host] gives me the same feeling that I used to get it from my mum, which is unlimited kindness. That’s what I love about [my host].

The report concludes with recommendations for both the Government and service providers to enhance supported lodgings in line with young people's feedback. Some of our recommendations to providers were to establish peer-support groups, to strengthen moving-on plans for young people and to provide specific training for hosts on the needs of asylum-seeking young people, To Government, we recommend publishing new guidance on supported lodgings and launch a national recruitment campaign to raise awareness about supported lodgings and recruit more hosts.

Could you make a difference in a young person’s life by becoming a supported lodgings host?

'For people who think that they might want to open up and become a host, 100% do it. Because as I’ve said, you can change someone’s life, and you can help them rebuild themselves and their self-esteem and things like that. To then help them believe that they can go on and pursue bigger things.'

– young person living in supported lodgings