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Shelter warns of surge in homelessness as cost of living crisis bites
Shelter has warned that this winter could be one of the toughest yet as the cost of living crisis tightens its grip on households across the country.
The housing charity’s warning comes after it revealed that its emergency helpline has been receiving more than 1,000 calls a day, with 70% of callers saying soaring costs are making their housing situation worse.
Shelter said that almost eight in 10 callers are already homeless or at risk of homelessness, compared with seven in 10 during the same period in 2021.
It comes as private rents reach record highs, household bills soar and more people fall behind on their housing costs.
The warning follows similar concerns raised by 29 organisations from across the homelessness sector that signed an open letter in August, warning the Conservative leadership contenders that the cost of living crisis had pushed many people to a “precipice”.
The letter, co-ordinated by charity Homeless Link, warned that without decisive governmental action, the rising cost of living and housing shortage could tip many more people into homelessness.
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It called on the victorious candidate to pledge to continue to try and meet the Conservative manifesto commitment of ending rough sleeping in England by 2024 and to publish a strategy by the end of this year to outline how they plan to achieve this.
Andrea Deakin, helpline manager at Shelter, said: “Our advisors are doing everything they can to help people find or keep hold of their home in what’s expected to be one of the toughest winters as the cost of living crisis goes from bad to worse.
“Day in, day out our advisors hear appalling stories of people in the most desperate situations, from the man whose increasing rent meant he only had one bag of rice to last him until payday, to the homeless families bounced from hostel to hostel.”
Danielle, 30, called Shelter’s emergency helpline in August out of desperation after she was made homeless alongside her children when her landlord decided to sell the property.
One of the charity’s advisors explained how to get accommodation for the night.
Shelter later helped Danielle again after the local council sent her to “completely unsuitable” hotels and hostels.
She said: “I told the advisors how while at the council hostel, I was miles away from my children’s school, had no cooker or washing machine, and the children were up at night listening to people fighting and swearing.
“The advisors explained I could get legal help. They took time to explain the process, told me how I could apply for legal aid and who to ring for legal help.”
In addition to the rising cost of living, the reason for homelessness rising has been put down to support measures put in place during the pandemic ending and the ban on no-fault evictions being lifted.
According to recent analysis by Channel 4’s Dispatches, the number of families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness has gone up by more than 23% in 12 months.
The most recent government figures show that homelessness in England soared by 11% in the first three months of 2022.
The data showed that more than 74,000 households in England became homeless or were deemed at imminent risk of becoming homeless between January and March 2022. This included 25,610 families with children.
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