Student Homelessness

The Specialist Advice and Casework Services team (SACS) offers specialist advice and support to UCL Students who are homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless.

Referrals

To access support just complete the form via the blue button below. You can refer yourself, or someone else if they are a UCL student.

UCL Student Homelessness Referral

What happens next?

We will review the information you've provided to see if you are eligible for our service. If we need to know more, we will contact you by phone or askUCL within 2 working days.

We will help you identify the central causes of your homelessness and provide advice and support to improve your situation.

What if we can't accept your referral?

We will contact you to offer advice and refer you to a suitable alternative service if appropriate.

If you are homeless out of normal office hours

Contact your local authority. They should have an emergency service and may be able to provide short term accommodation. You should get in touch with the authority where you last lived. Find your local council.

Once on their website search for ‘homelessness’.

How we can support you

Financial support

We manage a specific fund to prevent students from rough sleeping. A referral to our service means that you can be assessed as to your eligibility for this fund.

Financial advice

The UCL financial assistance fund provides support to UCL students who are in unexpected financial need. We can refer you to a student funding adviser who can help you create a revised budget to reduce costs and maximise income.

Accommodation assistance

We will work with you to identify the central causes of your homelessness and provide relevant advice and support to alleviate the situation.

Student Support and Wellbeing Services

We can refer you to our services to speak with an adviser from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team, or our Counselling Services who offer up to six sessions of free therapy.

Academic support

We can notify your department about your situation, arranging flexibility with deadlines and offering additional study support to maintain academic progress.

Landlord mediation

We can liaise with your landlord to explain your situation and negotiate a payment plan to prevent your eviction.

Students' Union UCL Homelessness Support

You can contact the UCL Students' Union, who offer support for students who are searching for emergency accommodation. The SU can signpost you to relevant sources of support, and can refer you into an emergency accommodation process at the University if you are eligible.

Visit the SU website on Finding Emergency Accommodation.

External support

Shelter: Shelter is a national homelessness charity who offer advice and campaign for housing justice.
Crisis: Crisis is a national homelessness charity who directly with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in 9 areas across England, Scotland and Wales. They provide practical one-to-one support to help people access benefits, healthcare services, employment opportunities, and more.
Refuge: Refuge provides support for women and children facing domestic violence

Crisis support

Student Support and Wellbeing Services do not offer emergency support. If you're in immediate danger of hurting yourself or others:

Go directly to the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department of your local hospital.
Call 999 to request an ambulance if you are unable to reach the hospital yourself.

If you're feeling distressed and need urgent support:

Contact your GP surgery to request an emergency appointment. If your GP surgery isn't open, call 111 for free out-of-hours NHS medical support.
You can call the Samaritans on 116 123 to talk to someone at any time, day or night.
Nightline are a listening service for students, by students. They're available overnight for online chat and calls from 6pm-8am.