“Across England, extortionate private rents combined with a dire lack of genuinely affordable social homes is trapping more and more people in homelessness. Parents are spending sleepless nights worrying about their children growing up in cramped and often damaging temporary accommodation, as weeks and months turn into years without somewhere secure for them to call home.
“Until the government builds the social homes needed to end the housing emergency for good, Shelter will be there for people facing the devastation of homelessness. But we cannot do it without the help of the public – your donations allow us to provide emergency help for those facing a night on the streets as well as give vital, expert advice and help to people to keep their homes.”
Homelessness has been increasing in 2024 with the Conservatives failing to hit their goal of ending rough sleeping by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, sky-high rents, frozen local housing allowance rates and a shortage of social housing has seen the number of households living in temporary accommodation soar to new heights.
Shelter found homelessness rates were most acute in London where one in 47 people are homeless in the English capital.
The total number of people experiencing homelessness in the city has risen by 12% in the last year to 187,000. The borough with the highest rate of homelessness is Newham with one in 18 people homeless.
Councillor Grace Williams, London Councils’ executive member for housing and regeneration, said: “London is the epicentre of a national homelessness emergency, with vast numbers of families set to spend Christmas in temporary accommodation.
“The impact of homelessness on individuals – especially children – is devastating and the pressures on local services are unsustainable. We need urgent action to turn the crisis around.”
Outside of London, Slough is the local authority with the highest rates of homelessness with one in 51 people homeless, followed by Luton with one in 57 homeless and Manchester where one in 61 people are experiencing homelessness.
The North East has the biggest annual increase of 53%, from 1,500 people to 2,300 people experiencing homelessness.
For Sally, 43, the year spent living in temporary accommodation in Dorset with her 14-year-old daughter has been the most stressful of her life.
Sally was made homeless earlier this year after being evicted. The family were placed in a room in a Travelodge after spending eight hours on the street. With Shelter’s help, they were moved into a different hotel and are now in temporary accommodation in a one-bed flat, but they are still experiencing problems with the accommodation.
“I’ve been through a lot in life with the loss of my sister and husband, but I have never experienced as much stress as I have this year being evicted and becoming homeless,” said Sally.
“I’ve always paid my rent on time but was still locked out of my home on the day the bailiffs came. I had to wait on the street for the whole day before me and my daughter were put in a hotel room by the council. It smelled like a urinal and was covered in pet hair, which made my chronic illness worse and left me very poorly. I’m grateful for Shelter’s support stepping in and getting us out of there.”
Life in temporary accommodation has continued to affect Sally and her daughters’ health.
“My daughter is autistic and the two most important things for her are routine and stability. These have been impossible to maintain while we’ve been homeless, which has been incredibly difficult for her, and she has run away countless times,” said Sally.
“Our current accommodation is unsuitable for my health needs, as I need a bath to manage the pain. We have a neighbour who shouts, bangs the doors and swears throughout the night, and the screams are scaring my daughter. The 24-hour laundry room that everyone in the block uses is behind our thin bedroom wall, so the noise of the machines keeps us awake.
“My daughter keeps telling me she can’t live in these conditions. We’ve been messed about for months and there’s nothing I can do about it. It makes me feel like our lives are worthless. I’m just going to have to put this year behind me and hope for a better 2025.”
The Labour government has set up a cross-government unit to tackle homelessness, chaired by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.
An additional £233m in funding was announced at the autumn budget to tackle all forms of homelessness while an emergency £10m fund has been promised to support people rough sleeping over the winter.
“Anyone forced to sleep rough on our streets represents a complete failure of the broken system we’ve inherited. It’s a national disgrace, and we can’t keep sticking plasters on it,” said housing secretary Rayner.
Visit shelter.org.uk/WinterAppeal to donate to Shelter’s urgent appeal.
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