The figures for homelessness across England this Christmas have come through, and it is neither happy, nor surprising news. According to Shelter, 354,000 people will be homeless this year, which is a massive surge since Christmas last year. We see this reflected in the numbers we have at The Bridge; guests often stay longer and show up in larger numbers during the winter months, but with the 52% rise we’ve had this year, this puts a bigger strain on our resources. This can include how many meals we need to prepare, the amount of clothes and toiletries we hand out, and the time our case workers have to spend with each guest that comes to them for help.
‘The number of people accessing our homelessness services has grown year-on-year since 2020, and no time is this more apparent than at Christmas. Christmas should be a time of warmth, connection and celebration, but for growing numbers it is a time of uncertainty, isolation and the hopelessness that rough sleeping can bring. We remain committed to doing everything we can to support and help people through this particularly difficult period.’ - Centre Manager
Reports have said that an additional 44,500 people are homeless this year, meaning 1 in 82 people are homeless right now, a huge increase from the 1 in 160 people being homeless this time last year. To break down the situations of these people, we have looked at rough sleepers, and those in temporary accommodation, such as shelters, hostels, and residences organised by the council.
Rough sleeping has risen by 10% this year, meaning there are 3,900 more people sleeping on the streets now than in 2023. There are also more people trapped in temporary accommodation, a rise of 17% from last year, and often these places are in abhorrent conditions.Â
See this article by the BBC, showing one family living among sewage and bed bugs - paid for by the council - as the only option to sleeping on the streets after their landlord evicted them to sell the property. Despite the council paying the rent directly to the landlord - £2,543 a month - the landlord can get away providing inappropriate conditions to tenants. It is also still legal to give out a Section 21, also known as a No Fault Eviction, to remove tenants out of a property. A landlord wishing to sell or re-let a property is the most common reason for homelessness – 6,700 households due to landlords wishing to sell and 2,670 households due to landlords wishing to re-let.
Extortionate private rent prices and the lack of affordable social homes are two of the main reasons we have seen such an increase in homelessness this year. We have seen political parties continuously failing to hit goals to end rough sleeping, despite some of these goals being part of parties election promises.
Keeping all this in mind is important to have a clear perspective on all we’ve achieved at The Bridge this year. Despite these rising numbers and depleting resources, we’ve supported 73 guests into accommodation this year, and increased health support provided to guests, with particular focus on dental and ocular health. This was made possible due to expanding our staff, receiving help from our 70+ volunteers, remaining open five days a week, and the incredible support we gave from our Business Champions and funders, and our regular donors.
So although the homelessness numbers grow, we intend to continue to grow too, and remain a source of security and support to our guests.
‘It’s an especially important time of year to offer somewhere warm to people. Christmas can be a hard time for many, not just those we work with, so it’s good to remember to always show kindness.’ - Mentor Coordinator
If you would like to support The Bridge in a time of unprecedented homeless numbers, we urge you to donate to us today: https://thebridgehomelessnesstohope.enthuse.com/cp/52e0d/donate#!/
Thank you for reading.
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