In Hull, one in 516 people will spend this Christmas homeless. The city has 39 rough sleepers as well as 473 people in temporary accommodation, including 235 children.
The figures come from an annual report from housing charity Shelter. It shows a 14% increase, meaning 44,000 more people across the country will spend this Christmas homeless compared to twelve months ago.
The total number includes 326,000 people in temporary accommodation, most of whom are families with children, along with 3,900 people sleeping rough on any given night, as well as other types of homelessness.
Families who become homeless are usually placed in temporary accommodation by their local council, but all too often this accommodation is far from temporary with Government’s own data shows that almost half (45%) of families have been there for over two years.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “As the country prepares to wind down and celebrate the festive season in our homes, it’s unimaginable that 354,000 will spend this winter homeless – many of them forced to shiver on the wet streets or in a mouldy hostel room with their entire family.
“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.”
By: Andrew Spence, LDRS
