The number of young people recorded sleeping rough has increased by 50% from April to June 2020.


Currently there is no guidance for the design of emergency accommodation for young homeless people. In November 2020 we announced the launch of the film, ‘We are not bad kids’, part of a campaign supported by @RIBA. This campaign calls on local authorities to urgently address this neglected policy area, and raise the bar in emergency accommodation for young people.


The film and campaign - spearheaded by Miranda MacLaren, Director at Morris + Company; Polina Pencheva, Associate at Morris + Company; and Heather Macey, Associate Director at John McAslan and Partners - launched at a time when youth homelessness had increased rapidly due to Covid-19 and many rough sleepers return to the streets as short-term housing initiatives formed during the height of the pandemic end.


Download the recommendations and guidelines below.

1 Manifesto PUBLISH

2 Leading by Example PUBLISH

3 We Recommend PUBLISH

Related work

Hidden Homeless
If you had the opportunity to make one change, what would that be? In this clip from the campaign film "We are not bad kids" we hear from two people with first-hand experience of emergency accommodation for young people in the UK about what they would change if they were able to. CLICK HERE
We Recommend It is important that accessible, fit-for-purpose private spaces are provided as part of any scheme.
We Recommend Support spaces should be focused, protective and dignified allowing both staff and young people to feel at ease.
Guidance Currently there is no specific qualitative guidance for emergency accommodation and none for the specific needs of young people. CLICK HERE
We Recommend When designing accommodation for young people, shared and supported spaces should be the heart of every scheme.
We Are Not Bad Kids CLICK HERE for the campaign video

We Are Not Bad Kids