Record number of children facing homelessness at Christmas

A record number of children face Christmas ‘without a safe place to call home’, a national housing and homelessness charity has warned.

Shelter said that parents are ‘desperately’ trying to cope after government figures revealed that almost 139,000 children in England are living in temporary accommodation.

A rise of 14% on last year, the alarming statistics show that 7,500 of those counted were in hostels or B&Bs, with 17,660 living in council or housing association properties.

Shelter has identified ‘record-high private rents’ as being a key part of the problem, with households struggling amid the cost of living crisis.  

Chief executive Polly Neate told Metro.co.uk: ‘It’s nothing short of a national disgrace that a record 139,000 children will wake up on Christmas morning without a safe place to call home.   

‘Every day our frontline services hear from parents who are desperately trying to provide some shred of a normal Christmas for their children while stuck in cold and damaging temporary accommodation.  

‘We know from our research that living in one room in a homeless B&B or hostel, with precious little space to sleep, eat or play, can seriously harm a child’s wellbeing and development.   

‘The solution to ending homelessness is clear – the government must build 90,000 genuinely affordable social homes a year.

‘Until then, Shelter will continue doing everything we can to help families find or keep hold of a safe home this winter. But as more and more families turn to Shelter for support, we’re relying on the public’s generosity to help us keep up with rising demand.’ 

Almost 68,000 households with children were in temporary accommodation as of June this year, according to the official figures.

In total, 138,930 children were without a settled home. 

Stacey Davies, 37, has scraped by through the year to buy presents for her sons, aged eight months and 23 months, as she struggles to make ends meet at her second-floor flat in Birmingham.  

The single parent, who is registered disabled and receives benefits, has lived in the two-bedroom property in Edgbaston with her boys after being moved in temporarily a year ago.  

‘Christmas is just about making ends meet’

‘The boiler is faulty, even though it’s been replaced, so it’s really cold in the house,’ she said. ‘I’ve been in hospital because of problems with my lungs and I’ve got mental health problems as well. We keep getting colds and the fan heaters run up the electric bill like crazy.  

‘I really struggle to get the buggy and the two children up and down the three flights of stairs. I can just about make ends meet with my benefits but the rising cost of everything adds up each month.

‘The furniture is falling apart and I can’t afford to replace it.

‘I’ve been buying the kids’ presents throughout the year and Christmas is just going to be about making ends meet.’ 

Ms Davies, who has been placed in the housing association accommodation via Birmingham City Council, says she has bid on other properties but has found herself 30th and lower on the waiting lists. 

The number of children in temporary homes is at its highest point since records began in their current form in 2004 — a rise of more than 17,000.  

Birmingham had 3,978 households with children waiting for a settled home as of June 2023, compared with 41,660 in London, 668 in Bristol and 317 in Liverpool, the data shows.

To highlight the issue, Shelter published a letter from Liam Walker, 11, whose family is in temporary accommodation.

Liam told Santa he didn’t want any new presents, just his old toys that were in storage and a ‘lego bedroom’ with a desk to build his models.

His letter reads: ‘This year for Christmas please can I have a forever home…

‘Everyone is sad living here and I just want us to be happy again. Thank you and have a lovely Christmas.’

‘How will Santa find me?’

Marcel, who has global development delay and learning difficulties. is another child waiting for a ‘forever home’.

The eight-year-old, appearing in an episode of BBC Wales Investigates, asked his mum: ‘How will Santa find me?’

Marcel is not able to understand why he and his mum Sarah are no longer living in their Cardiff home after they were evicted. They have been housed in a hotel in the city for the last three months.

In November, Birmingham City Council warned that its homeless support services were under strain as the government cleared its asylum backlog.  

The local authority said that 1,000 refugees in the city would leave Home Office-supported accommodation between August 1 and December 31. 

A spokesperson said: ‘We are very sorry to hear about the situation of this family. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing national housing crisis, the waiting list for accommodation in the city has reached unprecedented levels.

‘The shortage of accommodation severely restricts what we can offer to people in need.’ 

The government maintains that it has taken a range of measures to address homelessness, including through housing reforms, funding for councils and delivering more than 684,000 new affordable homes since 2010. 

A spokesperson for The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: ‘Temporary accommodation helps to ensure that no family is without a roof over their head.

‘But councils must ensure it is suitable for families who have the right to appeal if it doesn’t meet their needs. 

‘We are giving councils £1 billion over three years to help provide financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation, targeted to areas where it is needed most.

‘Birmingham City Council is receiving over £16.8 million of this funding.’ 

To donate to Shelter’s Winter Appeal visit shelter.org.uk/donate 

MORE : People with mental health issues facing homelessness hits ‘very concerning’ six-year high

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