Londoners can step it up to tackle the homelessness crisis
Sleeping on a cold, wet pavement is not a fate anyone should have to face in the fifth wealthiest country in the world.
And yet, 4,266 of our fellow citizens were recorded doing just that on a given night last autumn, according to government figures published last Thursday.
Each person counted is living through the horror of street homelessness. This is the very worst manifestation of the national emergency our housing crisis has become.
People who sleep rough suffer loneliness, serious ill-health, violence, and even death. Take the appalling news last month that at least seven people had been crushed to death by rubbish trucks in the last five years, after being so desperate they used a bin for refuge.
When people are losing their lives because of the housing crisis, it should sound the alarm. We need real and lasting action to tackle homelessness.
The Prime Minister has said he is committed to this, and reiterated last week that he will make it his mission to end the “scourge” of street homelessness before the end of this parliament. To that end, he has added an extra £236m to the government’s rough sleeping strategy to provide “move-on accommodation” for up to 6,000 rough sleepers, and appointed Dame Louise Casey to investigate the root causes of homelessness.
All of this is encouraging news — and indeed, the government’s strategy does appear to be making a small dent, with the number of people sleeping rough last year nine per cent lower than in 2018. But a huge word of warning is needed. Despite the slight progress, rough sleeping remains 141 per cent higher than it was in 2010. There is clearly still a marathon to be run before this crisis is solved.
The government’s statistics on rough sleeping are also shaky. They are just a snapshot — and a gross underestimate at that. We know that many people are simply missed by this basic count.
And no matter what figures you look at, rough sleeping is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to homelessness. More than 280,000 people in England are homeless — over 170,000 in London alone. This includes tens of thousands of families with children trapped in temporary accommodation, as well as people crashing on friends’ sofas or in otherwise unstable living arrangements.
Why are so many people being tipped into homelessness? The answer is no mystery: homelessness is being driven by the failure of consecutive governments to build the social homes that we need. Combined with sky-high private rents and cuts to housing benefit, people are left with nowhere they can afford to live.
Until the government takes responsibility for building more social homes, Shelter’s frontline services remain critical. Our expert advisers and support workers will stand by the side of anyone facing homelessness — and fight hard to get them the help they need.
Shelter helps millions of people each year, but we can’t do that without the public’s support. We rely on the generosity of people who care.
So if you’re one of those people, and you feel motivated to support our work and to try something different, why not sign up for our tower-running challenge Vertical Rush on Thursday 12 March? Taking place at London’s iconic Tower 42, over 1,000 runners — including our very kind celebrity supporters — will power up 932 steps, all to raise vital funds for those of us without a place to call home.
Without tackling the core reasons behind homelessness, emergency measures to cut rough sleeping or increase the number of hostel rooms can only go so far. After all, a hostel bed is not a home.
But until the government solves the root cause of the problem, we’re here, with the help of Londoners, to fundraise, volunteer, and campaign for change.
Visit www.shelter.org.uk/verticalrush to find out more.
Main image credit: Getty