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40 Stories of Impact: LandAid & The Youth Chapter Collective

LandAid has been a longstanding member of the Youth Chapter Collective – a coalition actively working to advocate for young people experiencing homelessness.

As we reflect on our history during our 40th anniversary, we recognise how joining this group has been a milestone moment for LandAid. It has allowed us to become involved in the most meaningful ways to end youth homelessness.

The Youth Chapter Collective is a coalition of over 150 organisations advocating for the right and the support of young people experiencing homelessness in the UK.

The Collective consists of various youth, homelessness and housing organisations that have come together to address the pressing issue of youth homelessness.

The groups’ goal is to ensure that young people facing homelessness receive the support and resources they need to achieve stability and independence.

Key achievements and work

Key achievements and work

  • Advocacy for policy change: The Collective has actively campaigned for changes in the benefits system that unfairly penalise young people in supported housing. We urged for the implementation of policies that help young people transition into work without losing essential benefits… and we won!
  • Calling for a youth specific chapter in the Government’s Homelessness National Plan to End Homelessness: As a Collective we advocated for a dedicated youth chapter in the government’s national strategy to tackle homelessness, by emphasising that young people have unique needs and require tailored support to address the root causes of homelessness effectively. Although we did not get a dedicated chapter, we made huge steps towards more tailored policies. Read here for more information.
  • Day of Action: The Collective successfully put together a Day of Action in Parliament Square, where young people shared their experiences of homelessness and called for urgent action to address youth homelessness, highlighting the collective’s commitment to ensure young people’s voices are heard in policy discussions.

The Evolution of the Collective

The Evolution of the Collective

The Collective started back in 2023, led primarily by New Horizon Youth Centre, under the name of “Plan for the 129k”. This name reflected the statistics of young people presenting at councils as homeless at that date. The group was called together at a time when we were due a general election, and feared that if no action was taken, young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness would not be given the recognition they needed in policy to come.

When New Horizon Youth Centre sent a call to action to the sector for charities to join in demanding more tailored support for young people in legislation, they were not expecting the volume of organisations that stood up to play their part. Within weeks, over 100 charities had joined the mission – from some of the UK’s biggest homelessness charities, to the smallest grassroots organisation who did not have the capacity for policy work, but did not want their service users to be left out of legislations. It was remarkable!

In 2024, the Collective changed its name to “Plan for the 136k”, a harsh reminder of the dramatic increase of reported homelessness amongst young people along the years. From protests to Parliament drop-ins, to youth-led campaign content, the collective has truly done it all – but at the centre of all our work has always been advocating for the policy change young people need and deserve.

One of the Collective’s proudest moments was a Parliamentary drop in held in Westminster where we were joined by 50 MPs, and even the Minister of Homelessness at the time.

LandAid has sat at the collective’s steering group since its early days. The importance of this Collective has grown within LandAid’s work and strategy throughout the years. Today, our comms team works actively within the Steering Group, the Policy Working Group and the Comms and Campaigns Working Group of the collective – making sure we bring the perspective of young people and the property sector into our advocacy as a Collective.

Today, we are known as the Youth Chapter Collective, primarily led by Centrepoint, demonstrating the unity of our sector in demanding change.

LandAid's presence in the Collective

LandAid's presence in the Collective

As youth homelessness charities, we knew that we could create a lot more impact if we worked together. Amongst the 150+ charities working together, we are proud to stand side by side some of our charity partners we fund through our grants, such as Centrepoint, New Horizon Youth Centre, St. Basils, Foyer Federation, akt, YMCA England and more.

Being part of this Collective is an essential element in the delivery of our current five-year strategy, and our mission. At Landaid we know we have a role to play in influencing decision makers to make the decision that will benefit young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness, and in amplifying their voices. Being part of the Collective makes our voice, and the voices of the young people we support louder.

As one of the founding members of the Youth Chapter Collective, LandAid has stood by our colleagues every step of the way. Being one of the Collective’s steering group members allows us to actively participate in setting the strategy and the goals the Collective works to achieve, inputting and influencing on the overall direction taken to achieve these goals.

Our involvement in the collective has been one of the biggest milestones in recent LandAid history, by solidifying our organisation as a key actor in changing the trajectory of youth homelessness.

Read more about how LandAid is taking action.

Ending Youth Homelessness: LandAid’s Plan 2024-2029

We exist to help end youth homelessness in the UK. Yet, despite everything we are doing, as a society we are failing to stem the tide of youth homelessness or solve the crisis.​​ We need to do things differently.

Ending Youth Homelessness: LandAid’s Plan 2024-2029