Shelter estimates that over one million children in Britain are living in housing that damages their health, their education and their future. They live in damp, cold, infested housing; on estates ridden with fear and filth; at the whim of bad landlords; under the cloud of eviction and debt.
At Housing Justice we think that this is a national scandal. We belive that the blame lies with a woefully inadequate housing system, incapable of providing the housing or the help that families need.
Homelessness hurts health
‘Multiple housing deprivation appears to pose a health risk that is of the same magnitude as smoking and, on average, greater than that posed by excessive alcohol consumption.’ BMA 2003.
Children living in cramped accommodation experience disturbed sleep, poor diet, hyperactivity, bedwetting and soiling, aggression and higher rates of accidents and infectious diseases. Homeless children are twice as likely to be admitted to hospital, with high admissions rates for accidents and infectious diseases. Adolescent girls in particular are very concerned about the lack of privacy in situations where they are often required to share a room with parents as well as older or younger siblings.
Homelessness hurts social inclusion
Poor housing in childhood is a major cause of adult poverty. The children spend the rest of their lives running to catch up.
Children miss, on average, 55 school days (a quarter of a school year) due to the disruption of moves into and between temporary accommodation.
This is on top of the difficulties of finding suitable places to do homework, and particularly the project and course work which is such a vital part of GCSEs.
Homelessness means exclusion from after-school activities and youth clubs, as well as from school itself. Children are further restricted by the lack of outside play areas. The problem with outdoor spaces includes fear of violence as well as lack of suitable space.
Homelessness hurts friendships
It is very difficult to leave friends behind – and to make new ones – especially if you don’t know how long you will be staying in a place.
Children are aware of the lack or poor quality of ‘amenities’ in their temporary accommodation – especially the toilets. This makes it very difficult for them to build up friendships by inviting people back to their home. To make it worse, they are often bullied at school.
Another difficult loss is pets. Families usually have to get rid of your pets when they lose their home…
"My cat’s gone to Battersea …when we get a new house we’ll get her back." (Girl, 4)
The case for more (affordable) homes for families
Today there are over 1.5million fewer social housing (council/ housing association) homes than 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, housing costs are a significant poverty trap. High cost housing leads to high levels of overcrowding, homelessness and rising numbers of people in temporary accommodation. Nationally only 50% of working households can afford to buy even the lowest price accommodation (in London this falls to 24%). The solution lies in greater investment in social housing.
Two changes the government could make that would help homeless young people…
• Reform of the rule that means young people living on benefit and in education lose entitlement to income support on their 19th birthday. This would ensure young people were able to complete their studies rather than drop out in order to seek work immediately.
• Extend the prohibition on the long term use of B&B accommodation to 16 and 17 year olds.