Homeless at Christmas

From family, love and gifts galore, to a full house and turkey with all the trimmings, Christmas is a time of happiness and laughter.

But while the festive season leaves many of us with a warm glow, it is easy to forget about those it doesn’t.

The festive season can be one of the hardest times of the year for the vulnerable and homeless. It can bring buried memories from the past to the surface and trigger a wide-range of deep emotions, all while the days grow shorter and the winter nights become agonisingly cold for those without a roof over their heads.

Charity Crisis says more than 200,000 households will be experiencing the worst forms of homelessness this Christmas – from sleeping on streets, to sofa surfing or stuck in unstable accommodation.

A study commissioned by the charity found the numbers of homeless households in the UK rose steadily between 2014-2019 – although dipped slightly after the start of the pandemic thanks to a government-led scheme that saw nearly 15,000 people housed in hotels and emergency accommodation during the first national lockdown.

However, its latest research shows that 1 in 185 people are still without a home and more than 200,000 households will be struggling over the next few weeks.

Unable to open its centres due to the pandemic, Crisis is providing hotel accommodation for people sleeping rough, as well as delivering food and wellbeing packs, among other things.

Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said: “Homelessness is dangerous and devastating, and yet this Christmas there will be thousands of people sleeping on strangers’ floors, freezing in flimsy tents or trapped in rundown B&Bs with nowhere else to go and no one to be with.

“It’s unquestionable that the emergency measures taken to support people sleeping rough into safe accommodation, and the introduction of a ban on evictions, had a significant impact and protected the lives of thousands. With the economic damage of the pandemic set to be long-lasting, and with millions expected to be out of work by early next year, there is a very real risk homelessness will increase unless urgent action is taken.

“We cannot let the progress made this year unravel. We must look towards longer-term solutions, such as building the social homes we desperately need and ensuring that housing benefit continues to cover the true cost of rents, so that people can afford to keep their homes.”

Kent Supported Housing looks beyond Christmas and at the bigger picture when it comes to homelessness.

We believe in providing our clients with stability and access to a wide-range of accommodation available for up to two years, all the while providing each person with guidance, advice and resources to help them get back on their feet and to independence in the long-term.

For more information on our services, contact 01795 842206 and ask for Zofia.

People can support Crisis this Christmas by donating £28.22 which will provide people experiencing homelessness with a life changing gift of somewhere to stay, food, friendship, care and advice. Please visit http://www.crisis.org.uk/support for more details.