This year 320,000 people were recorded homeless in Britain. It is a rise of 13,000 on last years figures and meaning around 36 new people become homeless every day. London has the highest rate of homelessness but in the Midlands, Yorkshire and north-west England the numbers are growing faster. There are around 67 people homeless in Birmingham and in Newham it is 1 in 24 people. One in every 200 Britons is either sleeping rough or living in temporary accommodation such as B&B and hostels.
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The government are planning to invest £1.2bn to tackle homelessness.
The report has been published as temperatures start to become lower, the real level of homelessness is very hard to measure as it is always increasing. Many are spending their days in hostels for the homeless. Many people are forced homeless due to the rise in rent even if they do work.
Shelters analysts arrived at the total of 320,000 after collecting data from figures at temporary accommodation, sleeping rough and the number of hostel places that are taken up. There could potentially be more that have not been counted.
What causes homelessness?
On average, homeless people die at just 47 years old.
People on the streets are almost 17 times more likely to be victims of violence, one in three people have been hit or kicked deliberately by some members of the public.
People become homeless for many different reasons, the most common are poverty, lack of affordable housing and unemployment. People can easily become homeless when they leave the army, prison or care as they have no home to go back to. Many women and men that are homeless have escaped a violent relationship.
Rent and house prices are on the rise, so some may just not be able to afford the payments and have no option but to camp out on the streets. Homeless people may also have suffered life events that have caused them to become homeless, these events may be losing a job, mental health or misuse of substances.
