'I'm scared of owning too much in case I'm moved'

Zoe, 21, said her experience of the care system meant she felt like she must "prepare for the worst case scenario"

More than 4,000 young care leavers in England were facing homelessness by April 2024, government data shows - a jump of 54% in five years.

The increase in the figure, which covers 18, 19 and 20-year-olds, is 15 times greater than the rise in homelessness among all young people in England.

Care charity Become described the high number of young care leavers facing homelessness as a "failure of society".

The government called the figures "shocking" and said it was taking steps to "reverse the worst housing crisis in living history".

'Christmas in different locations'

Zoe was 16 when she entered the care system. Now 21, she told the BBC that she was moved five times while in care.

"I have this fear of owning too much stuff in case I need to move and even if that's no longer a worry, I still always have to have these clear outs and make sure that my stuff fits in a certain amount of boxes," she said.

Originally from Cambridgeshire, Zoe has moved between hospitals, a children's home in Gloucestershire and an eating disorder unit in Glasgow.

"I’ve spent five different Christmases in different locations in the last five years and it's quite unsettling," she said.

Zoe does not have her own home and is living in supported accommodation in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, while waiting for suitable social housing.

She said: "I think people need to realise that we don't just turn 18 and then we're just this adult who knows everything.

"People need to realise that actually we've been deprived from care and love and that is something we still need as adults."

New figures from the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show the number of 18 to 20-year-old care leavers in England facing homelessness has risen by 54% from 2,790 in 2018-19, to 4,300 in 2023-24.

This increase was 15 times higher than all young people aged 18 to 24, which rose by 3.5% from 54,850 to 56,740 over the same period.

The number of households facing homelessness in the general population has risen by 21% since 2019, from 269,510 to 324,990.

The data only tracks those assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness by their local authority, and so have received a relief or prevention duty.

The government promised last week to remove the local connection test for care leavers.

The rules, used by councils to decide who can qualify for social housing, require someone to have a link to the area, for example because they have lived there recently, work there or have close family nearby.

Children in the care system are often forced to leave their local area, either for their own safety or to access support, so the local test can penalise them if they require housing after leaving care.

Katharine Sacks-Jones, the chief executive of Become, said that it was "a real failure of society" for vulnerable children and young people – many of whom have "experienced abuse or neglect in the family home" and been through a "huge amount of trauma" – to be facing homelessness.

"We also need to look at how we better support this group of young people and part of that is about ending the care cliff, so that young people don't have to leave care abruptly when they turn 18."

Minister for Homelessness Rushanara Ali said the figures showed "the devastating impact homelessness has on peoples' lives".

“We are reversing the worst housing crisis in living history by building 1.5 million new homes and are changing the law to abolish Section 21 no fault evictions – immediately tackling one of the leading causes of homelessness.

"In addition, we’ve announced a new dedicated cross government group, tasked with creating a long-term strategy to end the disgraceful levels of homelessness.”