Better access to help could tackle youth homelessness, says Peterborough charity
More people aged 16-30 were homeless in the city than anywhere else in the county since 2020
Last updated 2nd Sep 2026
A homeless charity in Peterborough is calling for support for young people to be made more accessible to help them off the streets.
It comes as we revealed that between 2020 and last year, more people aged 16 to 30-years-old were living rough in the city compared to anywhere else in Cambridgeshire.
"I think there's such a stigma within the youth population that they don't always see that (support)," Megan Wreford, from Light Project Peterborough (LPP), said.
"For us, it's perseverance a lot of the time, constantly offering that support and waiting until they're ready to accept that."
Figures from LPP show the number of young people aged 18 to 25 it supported rose to 11.1% last year, up from 9.7% in 2024.
But while there were nearly 500 new people coming forward for help in 2025, LPP saw a drop in how many it supported at its base at the Garden House compared to two years ago.
Ms Wreford said it can be difficult to get young people permanently off the streets if they have had a tricky upbringing.
"Quite often they possibly haven't had stable upbringings themselves and that puts a lot of uncertainty into their future," she said.
"They've not necessarily finished school and so they're not able to move forward.
"There are a lot of services for homeless people, specifically young people, but there will always be a need for more; this is important work and it's (about) seeing people for who they are and offering that help for when they need it most."
Data we've seen shows nearly 20,000 young people in Cambridgeshire have either been homeless or asked for housing advice from local councils in the last six full years.
Many of those cases were because relatives were no longer willing or able to accommodate them.
'Abuse' causing young people to live rough
Roy was addicted to drugs and became homeless after a marriage breakdown and spent time in prison, before managing to find a safe place to live.
"When I was homeless, I met a few young people and a lot of them are on the streets because they're escaping sexual, physical and mental abuse; they feel safer to be on the streets than it is at home," he said.
"That shouldn't happen; there should be a safe place for them to go."
Previously, Roy told us how he used to sleeps in doorways with others who were in the same situation as him, and eating food from bins.
Homelessness is 'an epidemic'
He believes the issue of youth homelessness is "an epidemic" and is hard to convince young people to come forward for help if they have experienced abuse.
To try and resolve this, more drop-in centres made available to both young and older people who've become homeless is one way Roy feels will make some progress.
"It took me many years to open up on my abuse; that is a tricky one because it's down to the individual, and a lot of them run away and don't seek help," he added.
"Young and older people don't know where to go; you're literally lost, you hit the street and think 'where can I turn?'
"You keep shutting down these places (drop-in centres) and we don't have anywhere to go, what can we do? It's only going to get worse and the councils need to recognise their homeless problem."
A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said a personalised housing plan (PHP) is tailored for a homeless person's needs - such as housing requirements - in order to find them suitable accommodation.
The spokesperson said the plan "includes actions that both the homeless person and the council consider reasonable to resolve their homelessness."