Youth homelessness and imprisonment

3rd March 2011

Youth homelessness can be traced back to problems experienced in childhood, and a lack of aftercare increases chances of ending up in prison in adulthood, a conference on youth homelessness held by Focus Ireland has found. Research presented at the conference, which took place 2nd March 2011, also reported that a third of young adults, whose pathways through youth homelessness were tracked, were in prison.

The Irish Times reports that HSE figures reveal that more than 1,500 people under the age of 18 are homeless each year; almost 800 of these are unaccompanied while the remainder are within families which are homeless.

Meanwhile, new research from Barnardo’s (UK), published this week, highlights the numbers of young people facing homelessness on leaving custody. The research has found that a young person caught in a cycle of homelessness and re-offending can cost the Government as much as £116,094 over three years - but if they receive the necessary support, there could be savings of £67,000 per child. Previous research has shown that stable accommodation can reduce the risk of youth reoffending by up to 20%.

Homelessness is one of the biggest issues facing all prisoners, and the role that homelessness plays in reoffending and reimprisonment is well documented. Living on the streets, or without stable accommodation, contributes to youth crime, arrest and committal to prison; in the case of young people it is even more critical that safe and secure housing is available to them.

Read more:

• Focus Ireland
• Irish Examiner: 'Tracing the roots of youth homelessness'
• The Irish Times: 'Focus questions homeless figures'
• Research report: Young People's Homeless Pathways (Maycock, Corr, O'Sullivan, TCD 2008)

See also:

• Barnardos (UK): No Fixed Abode - The housing struggle
  for young people leaving custody in England
• Guardian: Young offenders leaving custody for life of homelessness and reoffending