Housing
When your estate is under-invested, damp and crowded, how are you supposed to feel about your place in society?
Unsafe housing, rising rents and living costs and a lack of good quality youth provision create conditions for people to find supplementary income ‘on the road’, or simply lower their ambitions.
Whether you’re a social or private tenant or a homeowner, housing policy must prioritise resident wellbeing.
Talk it Out Session
Following their initial research the LPAC team organised a Talk it Out session with 59 young people, to better understand the issues, and potential solutions, around housing.
Key issues identified in session:
- Overcrowding
- Poor conditions and slow repair of council housing
- Concerns around safety and high levels of crime
- Gentrification
- Lack of housing affordability
Potential solutions:
- Raise awareness and campaign on issues
- More spaces and activities needed for young people
Actions taken
- The LPAC team has worked with St Matthews Project, High Trees and Spiral – organisations providing youth services in Lambeth – to explore how their spaces for young people can be improved and developed to better serve their communities.
- LPAC met with Lambeth MPs to discuss the future of youth organisations based at International House.
- The LPAC team shared their research and manifesto with senior members of Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing and the community panel on Clapham Park estate.