This fall, business, civil society, and lived experience leaders will be coming to London to address a crisis which is affecting communities in the UK and around the world. In the world’s most prosperous countries, housing costs are rising faster than wages and affordable housing has become unattainable for too many people, especially the most vulnerable.
Between 1.6 and 3 billion people around the world face barriers to adequate housing, according to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Younger people are bearing the brunt, with many barely able to afford rent, let alone a mortgage, even when they are employed. For vulnerable youth including those leaving foster care, fleeing unsafe homes, or who are unemployed, finding stable housing is even more challenging.
Young people’s future is put at risk
In the UK, the Office for National Statistics has reported the cost for rent is absorbing a growing share of income, and homelessness among youth 16–24 is rising. Centrepoint estimates that almost 120,000 youth people in the UK faced homelessness in 2023/24, a 10% increase year-on-year. The organisation also found that almost one in five young people in its services were ready to move on but unable to do so, often due to barriers accessing longer-term accommodation.
Without affordable housing, the prospects for too many young people are at risk. Evidence shows that when young people can’t access affordable, stable housing, they are far more likely to see education disrupted, struggle to sustain employment, and experience poorer health, including high levels of self-reported mental health problems. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11.1 calls for safe, adequate and affordable housing for all by 2030 but the likelihood of achieving this target is remote. What happens over the next five years will define the prospects of tens of thousands of vulnerable youth in the UK and millions around the world.
Cross-sector collaboration is crucial
The Impakt Forum was initiated last year to help people living without the most basic foundation of prosperity: a safe, stable and affordable place to live. At the inaugural Forum in Toronto, 60 leaders from countries including Poland, Finland, India, Portugal, the United States, Canada and the UK convened to learn from each other and take action on this issue. Guided by people with lived experience of unaffordable housing, participants developed new affordable housing concepts, two of which are now in development. This October, the Impakt Forum will be in London where leaders from the UK and around the world will co-create a new affordable housing project for vulnerable youth.
“Addressing homelessness, whether in Toronto, London or anywhere in the world, requires cross-sectoral collaboration,” said Mitchell Cohen, CEO, The Daniels Corporation, one of the biggest and most renowned developer/builders in Canada and a founding partner of the Impakt Forum. “A ‘whole of community’ approach is required to move the bar.” Youth with lived experience of unaffordable housing will shape the agenda for the Forum, guide how participants engage with the issue, and help select the concepts that will be implemented by a working group established to turn ideas into action.
Independent living in London
Inspiring work across the UK, Canada, and beyond is giving young people access to stable homes and a chance to build their futures.
“At Centrepoint, we’re developing Independent Living schemes in London and Manchester to tackle the challenge of affordable housing for young people,” says Seyi Obakin OBE, Chief Executive Officer of Centrepoint.
“We’ve already opened our Reuben House development in Peckham, part of our Independent Living Programme that provides 33 affordable homes to young people and is already helping residents build stability and independence. Our goal is to create 300 new homes by 2027 and a proof of concept that others can replicate to help take the model to scale.”
Grosvenor, an international property developer with projects in Canada and the UK, has a social enterprise, Grosvenor Hart Homes, which has a mission to improve the life chances of vulnerable children, young people, and their families. The organisation, a Registered Provider of Social Housing, is developing a self-sustaining model to provide more than 750 homes, alongside support services, over the next 10 years.
In Canada, 715 Mikinak Community Development, repurposed vacant land on a former Canadian Forces base for 271 affordable housing units. The project draws inspiration from the Seven Principles of the Algonquin Indigenous Peoples: Bravery, Truth, Humility, Honesty, Respect, Love and Wisdom. “Mikinak Community Development showcases what it means to design a community collaboratively and with inclusion in mind,” said Scott Arbuckle, Canada Country Director, Arcadis.
The Impakt Forum will convene in a different global city each year leading up to the SDG deadline of 2030. This year’s gathering in London is particularly important because of its unique situation at the intersection of global finance, policy influence, philanthropy and housing innovation. London is also uniquely positioned to foster more collaboration between the UK and Canada and accelerate global momentum. As host to the Impakt Forum, the UK will be playing a defining role in helping young people access affordable housing at home and around the world.
“Homelessness was my hardest experience, but it inspired me to help others,” said Brendah Sabrina of the Impakt Forum’s Lived Experience Working Group.
“I’m relieved that leaders in Toronto and London are collaborating for more affordable housing to prevent youth homelessness.”
If we are serious about ending youth homelessness, solutions cannot come from one sector alone. By bringing together businesses, civil society organisations, governments, philanthropists and people with lived experience, initiatives like the Impakt Forum can help turn ideas into projects that give more young people the stable homes they need to build their futures.
Paul Klein is the founder of Impakt Foundation for Social Change and the initiator of the Impakt Forum. He is also the author of Change for Good, which explores how businesses can benefit from addressing the world’s most urgent social problems.
