Partnership launched to end youth homelessness

The End Youth Homelessness Alliance (EYHA), made up of 12 social care charities and major private sector organisations, has been launched to combat youth homelessness.

The alliance seeks to be the largest and most influential collaboration in the field of youth homelessness, pooling experience to influence government at both a national and local level. It claims this is the first time that the UK voluntary sector and private businesses have joined forces to tackle youth homelessness.

Chaired by HSBC’s Chairman of Debt Finance and Advisory, Robert Gray, the alliance will also bring together the organisations' individual schemes which tackle the root causes of homelessness, from education and employment to health, housing and family support, under one banner.

EYHA aims to secure 15 policy changes in local authorities including persuading the three main political parties to adopt any two of the EYH campaign key asks in their election manifestos, and increase the number of people who believe the government should make ending youth homelessness a priority, up from 58 percent.

The 12 organisations involved in the alliance are Business in the Community, Centrepoint, Depaul UK, Family Lives, the Prince’s Trust, Homeless Link, HSBC, National Grid, Relate, Royal College of General Practitioners, St Basils, and Taylor Wimpey.