The experiences of unstable housing and homelessness among care leavers: A systematic review of current research knowledge

Abstract

Care leavers are consistently overrepresented among young people experiencing homelessness, yet limited research has explored how they understand and navigate housing instability. This systematic review synthesises qualitative research on care leavers’ lived experiences of homelessness and unstable housing. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and PRISMA principles, searches across five databases identified 3,983 records. After screening, 13 qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2024 from the United States, Australia, Ireland and Canada were included. The studies represent interviews, focus groups, and visual methods involving 294 care‑experienced young people.

The analysis identified four interconnected themes shaping care leavers’ housing pathways: (1) abrupt, age‑driven and insufficiently planned transitions from care; (2) the dual role of informal support networks, which can provide essential short‑term help but often mask hidden homelessness due to their instability; (3) the limited but meaningful stabilising function of transitional and formal support services, which frequently end abruptly and leave young people without continuity; and (4) structural barriers in the housing market, including high rental costs, income insecurity and limited access to affordable accommodation. Overall, the analysis shows how homelessness emerged not as an isolated crisis but as a cumulative trajectory shaped by institutional, relational and structural conditions.

The review highlights substantial gaps in existing research, particularly the lack of detailed qualitative studies and analyses of structural and policy‑level mechanisms shaping housing precarity for care leavers. Future research should employ youth‑centred approaches to better understand how young people navigate instability over time, and how structural barriers might be addressed to support more secure and equitable transitions from care.