Klarisse Smith, a 24-year-old woman from Birmingham, is facing the cold truth about being homeless after aging out of the care system. She’s a young woman with long, straight dark hair wearing a black motorcycle jacket. In a recent interview filmed in her car, she shared her very personal battle with homelessness and how it quickly began to affect her self-esteem and confidence.
Earlier this year, Smith was the guest of honor at the Sunbeam Fostering Agency’s Children’s Awards ceremony—an event she helped shape through her advocacy. Her conditions at home drove her to study social work. This past summer, she finished a Rhodes Scholarship program in clinical medicine at the University of Oxford. Her incredible academic accomplishments have carried her far. Fast forward to today—she’s still struggling with the realities of living as a care leaver without support.
The pathway is a living document, adopted as a programme in Birmingham in January 2025. It sets out to prepare young adults aged 16/17 who have experienced homelessness or have been in care with essential living skills and exciting learning & training experiences. Action 2 of the initiative requires local authorities to provide a more inclusive continuation of support for care leavers until they turn 25.
Smith’s experience shows just how much help falls short in these support networks. “If you’re not the type of person to want to constantly be nagging someone, then you just kind of get left under the system,” she stated. She expressed frustration over the lack of engagement from her social worker after she moved to live with her aunt.
“I felt like my social worker just kind of washed her hands of me when I went to my auntie’s,” Smith said. The challenges experienced by many young people in care, especially those pursuing higher education, are deep and palpable. They frequently report being left behind when they age out of the system.
Clare Bracey is director of policy, campaigns, and communication at Become. She emphasized the fact that millions of episodes of homelessness never make it into official counts. “Part of the problem is that young people aren’t reaching out for support,” she remarked, stressing the need for improved outreach and communication about available resources.
Statistics paint a dark picture of increasing youth homelessness. The latest households in England with at least one young care leaver threatened with homelessness has rocketed. In the last five years, this increase was even more alarming at 37%. Today, there are 132,410 households sheltered in temporary accommodation, which expenses councils around £2.8 billion per year.
Being homeless sort of takes your self-esteem, I guess is the word. It gnaws at your self-esteem and leaves you feeling that things will never improve, Smith explained. She explained that same week when times were tough she only had $80. As far as help was concerned, it was six weeks of crickets. She graciously extended me the trust of £50 a week and literally hand carried it to me in cash. She recalled.
Smith’s observations illuminate the distinct challenges that young care leavers experience. “When you’re a child, you’re a lot more sensitive. So, putting their clothes in bin bags, for example, might just be a form of transporting them. To a child, it feels like there’s something they’ve done wrong to be treated like this,” she added.
On a more personal note, she feels that her experience as a care leaver helps her to understand those who come from similar backgrounds. I chose to study social work, as through my lived experience I developed knowledge about the social care system. As a care leaver I feel a deep connection with so many more. I feel a real strong connection to the foster kids, and what they go through. I’m hoping that I can build some confidence into them,” Smith said.
As the conversation on youth homelessness progresses, Bracey said it’s critical that there is no ambiguity about where young people can find help. “We want to make sure that it is really clear who that support applies to, that there is a broader definition of that support and that young people have a say in what support they should get,” she said.
