Routes to Roofs
Improving the experience of leaving care
Every care leaver deserves more than just a roof over their head. Yet too many face a shortage of suitable housing and limited choice about where they live. Routes to Roofs is bringing together young people with lived experience and partners to create housing options that offer safety, choice, stability and the right support at the right time.
Why this matters
Every young person deserves a safe place to call home and the chance to build the future they want. For many young people leaving care, that's not the reality.
At 18, many have to leave their children's home or foster family, often before they feel ready. They can face limited housing options, unfamiliar places to live and major life changes all at once.
Through our Staying Close, Staying Connected service, which we are piloting ahead of it becoming a statutory duty for local authorities in 2028, we are already working to address this challenge. But finding somewhere to live when leaving care is only part of the picture - because in many cases, this accommodation is temporary, meaning young people face further moves and ongoing uncertainty.
What we're doing
Routes to Roofs is bringing together young people, housing providers, local authorities and partners to explore practical ways to give young people more choice, greater control and housing that works for their lives, not just what's available.
The project is shaped by young people with lived experience and is focused on creating homes where young people feel safe, settled and supported, with more options and better transitions, when they're ready to take that next step.
By sharing what we learn, Routes to Roofs aims to help improve support and housing options for young people leaving care across the country.
What's going to happen when?
November 2025 – March 2026
During this time, we mapped out project partners and established our co-production approach
March – July 2026
We are establishing expert working groups with project partners and young people; this group will develop a shortlist of potential new approaches
July – October 2026
We will consider the feasibility of each idea and choose which ones to take forward
October – December 2026
We will create project plans and decide how they will be evaluated
December 2026 – April 2028
We will deliver project plans and evaluate their effectiveness and impact
May 2028
We will hold a learning summit event and start planning what’s next
Get in touch
If you'd like to learn more about the project or are interested in getting involved, please get in touch with Steve Hulme at stephen.hulme@break-charity.org.