Young people without a home need your help
Centrepoint is the national charity working to improve the lives of young people who are homeless or at risk because they do not have a safe place to stay. Every night over 600 young people sleep safely in Centrepoint’s projects knowing that tomorrow they will be given all the support they need to fulfil their potential. Centrepoint provides the counselling, training, education and employment advice that helps these homeless young people get off the streets for good.

Centrepoint also works in partnership with local and national Government and charities to pass on our experience and expertiese to ensure that all services to homeless and vulnerable young people are appropriate to their needs. Centrepoint also seeks to influence policy and practice to the benefit of young people.

92% of all donations go directly to help young homeless people get off the streets and turn their lives around.

You can help homeless young people get their lives back on track. We currently need brave fundraisers to take part in the Great North Run and The London Triathlon.

Our Vision-

Centrepoint aims to ensure that no young person is at risk because they do not have a safe place to stay. Centrepoint's vision of the future is one where no young person is excluded from society through poverty, lack of employment, homelessness, discrimination or abuse.

Programmes and Activities-

Each night Centrepoint houses 600 young people in its emergency shelters, hostels, foyers and flats across Greater London and, in doing so, prevents them being exposed to the dangers of rough sleeping. Last year Centrepoint helped 1600 homeless young people with temporary accommodation, advice and assistance with a finding a job.

Support Services: Personal and Social Development
We acknowledge that at Centrepoint not all clients are job ready and in fact many may be several years away from this. The Centrepoint Lifeskills and Youthwork Team carries out our programme of personal and motivational support including life skills. It provides a space for young people to explore personal and social issues with the aim of achieving greater independence and healthier lifestyles. Some of the young people are entrenched rough sleepers with a complex range of needs but we strive to engage those who are hardest to reach and provide a varied and flexible programme of activities. The activities are designed to develop independent living skills, basic skills plus activities and workshops.

Educational and Vocational Services
Our Learning and Work Advisors understand the issues that homeless people face and aim to help them overcome any additional barriers to employment including getting back into mainstream education. They offer vocational guidance, skills assessment, CV preparation, interview skills, job search activities, job preparation, IT training, ESOL (English as a second or other language) and work placements. Our two Learning and Work Teams form our unique professional job brokerage service for homeless people which use strong links with employers to involve them in the support services made available for homeless people. We also provide back to work counselling and support for up to six months for all our clients who gain employment.

Multiple Health Needs
The Multiple Health Needs team is comprised of specialist in-house workers led by a qualified manager and includes mental health workers and substance misuse specialists in partnership with Turning Point’s Hungerford Drug Project. The team provides needs assessments, one to one sessions for Centrepoint residents and support for residents in crisis. It aims to prevent an individual’s drug use and mental health problems from escalating, to enable move-on and reduce exclusion of this client group from hostels and other support services, to provide advocacy and support to young people accessing specialist substance misuse and mental health services and provides ongoing specialist support, advice and training to other Centrepoint staff for working with residents who have multiple health needs.


Strategic and Development Services
Centrepoint’s National Development Unit provides services throughout the country to local authorities, housing associations and voluntary organisations to help build the capacity of individuals and agencies to understand and tackle the causes and consequences of homelessness. Working across the country the regional development workers help to deliver a unique range of projects offering strategic advice, support and consultancy services and the development of services in partnership with local organisations.

Policy, Research and Public Affairs
Centrepoint helps shape policies that affect young people and young adults at risk of social exclusion by working to influence government and policy makers. This is true for the development of the Connexions Service where close working between Centrepoint’s Regional Development Workers and the policy team has influenced government thinking, and those of the local Connexions Partnerships.