More than 300,000 people in Britain are homeless

One in every 200 people in Britain is homeless, according to recent analysis by UK homelessness charity Shelter.

Researchers used government data and information from social services obtained by freedom of information requests, and calculated that there are almost 307,000 people with no permanent home across the country.

The figures include people sleeping rough or living in hostels or temporary accommodation.
The analysis shows homelessness is at its highest rate in London, where 158,097 people have no permanent home - equivalent to one in every 59.

Shelter said that one in 25 people are homeless in the London borough of Newham, making it England’s “top” homeless borough. 13,566 people live in temporary accommodation and 41 are sleeping rough in Newham.

Newham is followed by Haringey, where one in 29 people are homeless. In Westminster the figure is one in 39.

The report also shows homelessness figures in Luton, Birmingham and Manchester. In Manchester, one in 154 people have no permanent home while in Birmingham one in 88 are homeless.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said, “It’s shocking to think that today, more than 300,000 people in Britain are waking up homeless. Some will have spent the night shivering on a cold pavement, others crammed into a dingy hostel room with their children. And what is worse, many are simply unaccounted for.

“On a daily basis, we speak to hundreds of people and families who are desperately trying to escape the devastating trap of homelessness – a  trap that is tightening thanks to decades of failure to build enough affordable homes and the impact of welfare cuts.

“As this crisis continues to unfold, the work of our frontline services remains absolutely critical. We will do all we can to make sure no-one is left to fight homelessness on their own. But we cannot achieve this alone; we urgently need the public’s support to be there for everyone who needs us right now.”

Shelter’s homelessness report, “Far from alone: Homelessness in Britain in 2017,” includes children and adults. The findings did not include “hidden” homelessness, those who have no permanent home but not recorded in official figures. The charity said that the number of homeless people increased by 13,000 in a year.

Shelter also shared the case of a woman named Victoria, who has become homeless due to her landlord’s decision to sell her privately rented flat. Victoria, 72, lives in temporary accommodation in London.

She said: “Presenting myself as homeless was in itself humiliating and scary. You’re left sitting around for hours, waiting to find out if you’ll have a place to stay that night. I’m in temporary accommodation now. I spend every day dealing with letting agents, searching for a place to rent, or just some way out of here. If I get the chance to visit a friend’s house it’s so hard to come back to this place afterwards, and leave behind the warm environment of a real home.

“The whole thing makes me feel like there is something wrong with me. I’ve moved around a lot, and yet for the first time in my life I feel like I have no control over my situation. I’m not easily scared, but the fear is terrible – you just don’t know where you are doing to end up. I’m in a constant state of anxiety and stress. I hope that finally with Shelter’s help, I might one day find a safe place to call home again.”