Preventing Youth Homelessness with Settle

Young people leaving care describe facing a ‘cliff edge’ of support, and 1 in 3 slip into homelessness as young adults. 

At Settle, we provide a safety net for these young people, preventing them from falling into debt, eviction and homelessness and supporting them to thrive.

The Need We Meet

Around 12,000 young people age out of the care system in the UK every year, and these young people are at significantly greater risk of homelessness than most.

After their 18th birthday, young people are ejected from the care system, not because they’re necessarily now ready or equipped with the skills to be, but because of age alone. Seemingly overnight, their living arrangements change and the support structures provided to them until that point fall away. 

The moment young people age out of the care system, they’re expected to be able to do everything for themselves. Without appropriate guidance around budgets or bills, finding work or claiming benefits, however, more than a third of young people who left care in 2022 felt they didn’t have the required skills to live more independently. As a result, many sink into poverty, debt and eviction.

What we do

The young people we work with are amazing. All they need is someone to point them in the right direction, and what 18 year-old doesn't?

Through weekly coaching, we support young people as they leave the care system and move into their first homes. For many of these young people, we represent their only real support network and source of guidance. 

Our intensive 1:1 support helps young people to develop the life skills they need to manage their money, tenancies and wellbeing and to build stable and successful lives. Our accredited coaches work to support young people in any area where they feel they need the help, but topics frequently covered include budgets, bills, tenancy agreements, employment and mental health. It's all about equipping these young people with the skills they need to live independently and achieve their goals. 

Alongside this, we also run a range of other projects, providing these young people with access to therapy, small grants, social events and employment, education and training workshops. Our goal is to provide the holistic, wraparound support that's often needed.

The difference we make

Since its foundation in 2015, Settle has supported more than 600 young people across London and the South East as they’ve moved into their first homes, and we know that what we do works. 

100% of the young people we support sustain their tenancies one year after completing our programme. Homelessness is not inevitable for these young people, and our model proves it. 

“With Settle, I felt like I had a family and had support around me. If the same support was given by social services, it would change the lives of so many people.”

Noah's Story

Noah joined the Settle Programme and started working with his Settle Coach, Alice, shortly after moving into his flat. Having left his job, Noah found himself struggling to afford his utility bills and maintain repayments for loans he had taken out previously. He started claiming Universal Credit, but quickly fell into rent arrears anyway. Accumulating debt, and receiving warnings of debt enforcement, Noah was struggling with his mental health and was unable to make the full-time transition into independent living.

But Noah's story doesn’t end there. Over the course of the next 6 months, and with Alice’s support, Noah created a monthly budget to work out what repayment plans he could afford, and regularly communicated with his creditors. He applied for the grants to which he was entitled for flooring, and to furnish his flat properly. Through Settle’s mental health support service, he was able to access therapy, which helped him to ‘understand why I feel the way I feel and do the things I do.’ 

By the end of his time on the Settle Programme, Noah had set up repayment plans for all his debts and cleared his rent arrears. He’d also secured his dream job, at a restaurant that he’d always wanted to work for. Finally, he was able to move into his flat full-time, now confident in his ability to manage on his own.

Reflecting on his experience, Noah says that, “With Settle's support I started to view my flat as more than just storage space. Now, I adore it. It's rugged but charming. It's my humble abode. I actually look forward to going home now - I can't wait. There are no arguments there. And I can actually sleep …"

"I feel more ‘whole’ than I have in a very long time … You've supported me all the way and that's all I can ask for.” 

Why your support matters

Through this year's Winter fundraising campaign, we aim to raise the vital funds that will enable us to continue to provide a safety net for care-experienced young people.

If we reach our £15,000 target, we will be able to support an additional 15 young people as they transition into their first homes over the next year.

For every £1,000 we exceed our target by, we'll be able to support 1 additional young person.

Until midnight on the 16th December, every donation of up to £250 made via this page will be match-funded by the Aviva Community Fund. Double the donation means double the impact, so there's no better time to give.

How your donation can help

• £25 could provide a young person with a Settle welcome pack, helping them to take the first steps towards thriving in their new home
• £50 could fund a specialist therapy session for a young person struggling with their mental health
• £100 could pay for a young person to access a week's support from one of our accredited coaches
• £1000 could put a young person through the complete Settle Programme, helping them to develop the life skills they need to avoid eviction and homelessness

Thank you so much for your support.