Background

Comic Relief’s vision is “a just world free from poverty.” As part of this vision, we believe that everyone deserves a safe and decent place to call home. Young people experiencing homelessness are among the most vulnerable in society, research shows that around half of adults who experience rough sleeping were first homeless before the age of 25 [1], highlighting the importance of early prevention of homelessness, and where it cannot be prevented ensuring it is rare, brief and non-recurring.

In 2024, Comic Relief launched Every Step of the Way: Safe & Supported Beyond Homelessness, and through this we are supporting nine exceptional organisations that empower young people who are at immediate risk of, or currently experiencing homelessness in the UK, helping them access the right support at the right time.

Two years on, youth homelessness in the UK remains a growing issue. Between 2024 and 2025, an estimated 123,934 young people approached their local authority because they were at risk of homelessness - a 6% increase on the previous year [2]. Building on our existing work and in partnership with Omaze, we are launching a second phase- A Place to Belong: Every Step of the Way, which goes one step further in addressing inequity within the housing system.

Evidence consistently shows that Global Majority communities are far more likely to experience homelessness due to discriminatory policies, systemic barriers and unequal access to support. At the sharp end of this are young people. Centrepoint states that more than half the young people they support are from Global Majority backgrounds [3], and in the UK, Black people are almost four times as likely to face statutory homelessness than White people [4].

Through this programme, we aim to ensure that our funding not only addresses the immediate needs of young people but also helps dismantle the longstanding barriers that drive and sustain housing inequity. This funding programme is structured around two pathways:

Service Delivery Pathway

Seeks to fund organisations providing holistic support to young people aged 16–25, who are at immediate risk of, or experiencing homelessness.

We will prioritise organisations who understand and reflect the diverse needs of the young people they serve and respond to their intersectional identities, especially those committed to developing an AJEDI (Anti-racist, Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) approach to service provision.

Systemic Change Pathway

Seeks to fund organisations that have the ambition and experience to advance racial justice through influence and advocacy within the homelessness sector, by challenging the systems and structures that create and sustain racial inequalities.

[1] https://nhyouthcentre.org.uk/new-generation-z-of-young-people-rough-sleeping-in-london/

[2] https://centrepoint.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-02/CP017_Databank%20Report%202026_260212%20COMPRESSED.pdf

[3] https://centrepoint.org.uk/news/young-black-and-homeless-observations-centrepoints-front-line

[4] https://pure.hw.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/152675515/HW_Homelessness_BEM_Exec_Summary_amended_A4_report_Aug25_1.0.pdf