Housing Justice News Release 21 January 2005
For immediate release
Britain mortgaging future by allowing one million children to grow up in appalling housing conditions.
Housing Justice are using Homelessness Sunday this year to draw attention to the national scandal that sees some 1 million children grow up in overcrowded, unfit or emergency housing.
As a result of living in these conditions, the children are more likely to suffer from serious health problems and have their educational prospects blighted.
“It is important to realise the amount of poverty there is in this country. For such a rich nation to have so many of its young people living in poverty is a disgrace. The campaign to make poverty history should not just be about places far away but must include what is going on in our own back yards.” said Robina Rafferty, Chief Executive of Housing Justice.
Facts and Figures
In 2003-2004, some 137,000 households in England were accepted as homeless (that is, eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need).
Among families homelessness has increased by 17 per cent since 1997.
The number of families in temporary accommodation is at an all time high of 100,810, some 9 per cent up on 2003, up by more than 55,000 since the Labour Government came to power.
The high level of those being housed in temporary accommodation is largely due to the lack of social housing available to accommodate them.
There are one million fewer social housing homes than 25 years ago.
Case studies
In one case dealt with by Housing Justice, a father lost his job due to ill health and so was unable to pay the mortgage. When the mortgage arrears built up the house was repossessed forcing the family to go to the local authority looking for accommodation. The Local Authority (LA) claimed that the family were intentionally homeless so would not re-house them. The children’s education suffered during this period. It was only after a housing justice advisor intervened that the LA eventually saw sense and agreed to re-house the family. In another case a 16 year old girl left home following a family breakdown. The LA put her into Bed and Breakfast (B&B) while Social Services (SS) conducted an assessment to ascertain whether she was estranged from her parents or not. After five nights the LA said they would not provide B&B anymore and that it was Social Services responsibility. In the end the girl paid £90 for three nights out of her own money. She was about to be thrown out on the street when a housing advisor intervened and managed to persuade the LA that it had a duty to re-house the girl in B&B. Later, the SS provided young persons supported accommodation for her.
“Poor housing blights children’s lives. We cannot simply look away. We cannot even be satisfied with charitable giving. If there is a systematic problem, we must play our part in highlighting it, and then in looking for solutions,” said Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor.
“It is a scandal that a disproportionate number of children are exposed to poverty due to bad housing. Much of this suffering is caused by the lack of affordable housing around the country. There remains in many parts of the country a woeful shortage of affordable housing for those with limited options. People end up in the least attractive areas, away from friends and family – this must be addressed,” said Bishop of Dudley David Walker. “People must pray for the homeless but also make their opinions known to MPs, particularly at a time when a general election is on the horizon.”
Bishop David called on Christians to look at how they can help those in need in their own parishes. He also warned of a growing tension in rural parishes where the desire of many to help the homeless is being thwarted by the concerns of rich and powerful parishioners who are more concerned about the location of their own property and its value in the housing market.
What Housing Justice wants
Housing Justice are calling for more affordable social housing to be built and for the bureaucratic obstacles being put in the way of addressing homelessness to be cast aside.
there need to be an extra 20,000 social housing units built each year. there should be better funding provided for groups like Housing Justice which provide housing advice for the needy.
Ends
Case Studies provided by Homelessness in Oswestry Action Partnership.
About Housing Justice
Housing Justice is the national voice of Christian action to prevent homelessness and bad housing. It was formed in April 2003 through the merger of two long-standing housing charities, the Catholic Housing Aid Society (CHAS) and the Churches National Housing Coalition (CNHC) bringing together more than 60 years of experience of working for change in the field of housing.
Housing Justice provides frontline services to people in housing need and campaigns to improve housing policy. Housing Justice funds a network of 10 housing advice agencies and numerous community projects, and develops models of good practice for frontline services that local groups can adopt. In total Housing Justice is actively involved in 35 communities across England and Wales.
Housing Justice Regenerate, funded by the Home Office’s Civil Renewal Unit, supports resident-led regeneration in 15 guide neighbourhoods across the UK. Regenerate brings together residents who have transformed their estates with those who want to embark on the regeneration process to share thinking and offer support.
Housing Justice works with and for homeless and badly housed people of all denominations, and with those who have no religious beliefs. All our services are offered to the whole community and, wherever possible, we work in partnership with others who share our values, regardless of religious beliefs.
For further information on Housing Justice see www.housingjustice.org.uk
Contact
Luke Evans 020 7723 7273
email media@housingjustice.org.uk