Shelter Concern as Homeless Figures Rise

Shelter charity officials are becoming worried as new statistics show that homeless applications across the country has risen by 18% in the last 12 months. This massive increase across England features 12,830 homeless applications accepted between October and December 2011, with London showing a 36% rise in the same period.

Homeless households more than doubled across seven of London’s boroughs over the twelve months surveyed, with Hounslow rising an astounding 245%! National stats on homelessness show that almost 50,000 households were now in temporary accommodation, with the figure continuing to rise as more and more families slip into bad debt.

Chief Executive of Shelter, Campbell Robb, said –

These figures are a shocking reminder of the divide between the housing haves and have nots in this country. Amid growing economic gloom and rising unemployment, increasing numbers of ordinary families are falling victim to our housing crisis. Some may be priced out of the housing market, forced to bring up their families in a revolving door of private let after private let. Others may have to leave the areas they have always called home, driven out by the cost of housing. And for those we are hearing about in today’s figures, the worst has happened, and they have lost their home altogether. We must see radical, urgent action from Government to address our broken housing system, or thousands more families will suffer as a result.

Shelter is the UK’s leading housing and homelessness charity. They operate local solutions which work to improve the lives of both homeless and badly housed people – you can help Shelter to help those in need most.