At least 309,000 people homeless in England today, research shows

New research from housing charity Shelter has found that at least 309,000 people in England will spend Christmas without a home, including almost 140,000 children – a rise of 14%, or 38,100 people, in one year.

Shelter’s analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to Freedom of Information requests reveals that one in 182 people in England are currently homeless. The charity’s research shows homelessness has risen rapidly in just 12 months: over 3,000 people are sleeping rough on any given night (26% increase) and 279,400 are living in temporary accommodation (14% increase), most of whom are families. There are also 20,000 people in hostels or supported accommodation.

The government’s own figures reveal that almost half (47%) of families who are homeless in temporary accommodation have been there for more than two years. Councils have a legal duty to house families and people who are vulnerable, but the acute shortage of affordable homes means they are having to rely on temporary accommodation for long periods.

Against, this backdrop the growing emergency is leaving families stuck for months in grotty hostels, B&Bs and cramped bedsits, often having to share beds with no, or inadequate, cooking and laundry facilities. People not entitled to accommodation may end up on the streets, sofa-surfing or in dangerous living conditions.

Shelter’s frontline services deal with the reality of rising homelessness every day, from supporting families crammed into a one-room B&B with mouldy walls and bed bugs, to providing emergency assistance to people faced with a night on the streets. The charity has launched an urgent appeal for public support this winter.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: ‘Homelessness is on nobody’s Christmas list, but 309,000 people will spend this time of year in a tiny hostel room or freezing in a doorway.

‘The housing emergency is out of control. Chronic underinvestment in social homes has left people unable to afford skyrocketing private rents and plunged record numbers into homelessness. It is appalling that the government has allowed thousands of families to be packed into damp and dirty B&B’s and hostel rooms, which are traumatising children and making people desperately ill.’

Image: Jon Tyson

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