Homelessness charity warns 'worst is yet to come'
Homelessness could rise even higher as the economic downturn continues and the governments cuts to benefit bite, new research has said.
The predictions, in a paper by Heriot-Watt and York universities for homelessness charity Crisis, come after figures published yesterday showed the number of homeless households accepted by councils rose by nearly a fifth between the second quarters of 2010 and 2011.
Yesterday’s government figures also showed a 46 per cent rise in the number of people becoming homeless after their private tenancy ended between the second quarters of 2010 and 2011. Crisis pointed out that the figures, covering April to June 2011, are the first since the government cut the amount of local housing allowance payable to new claimants in April.
The paper said the strain of unemployment and the economic downturn could contribute to relationship breakdown which is a major cause of homelessness. The research also said government benefit reforms restricted access to the private rented sector for poor households and a halving of government investment in new social housing will make it harder for them to find an affordable home. Increasing competition for private rented housing with people renting because they are unable to get mortgages would also hit poor households, the charity said.
Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis, said: ‘Today’s official figures prove once again we now face a sustained increase in homelessness but, worryingly, this research predicts the worst is yet to come.
‘The coalition government is dismantling the buffers against poverty and unemployment that have traditionally kept a roof over vulnerable households’ heads. Homelessness is rising and we fear cuts to housing benefit and housing budgets, alongside reforms in the Welfare Reform and Localism Bills will cause it to increase yet further. We need the government to change course now or risk returning us to the days of countless lives facing the debilitating effects of homelessness.’
Professor Suzanne Fitzpatrick, of the Institute for Housing, Urban and Real Estate Research at Heriot-Watt University, who led the research, said: ‘International evidence indicates that strong welfare and housing systems are vital in mitigating the impact of difficult economic circumstances on people vulnerable to homelessness. So the government’s reforms in combination with the pressures of the economic downturn seem certain to increase all forms of homelessness, from rough sleepers on our streets to homeless people hidden out of sight.’
