Fifth of young men homeless on release

Nearly one in five young men in custody have nowhere to live when they are released from prison, according to a new report.

The Howard League for Penal Reform’s study of 86 men aged 18 to 20 describes prison housing advice as inadequate and says this should be addressed by improving training for prison and probation officers.

The report also finds that three-quarters of young prisoners had a history of disrupted housing and left home at 15 on average, becoming homeless or living in shelters and bed and breakfast.

The report calls for the government to place a statutory duty on local authorities to house prisoners on release, and to raise housing benefit for 18 to 25-year-olds to the same rate as older adults.