Hidden homelessness: an avoidable tragedy
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Homelessness finally appears to be rising up the political agenda.
By Sara Gariban
New figures released by the charity Crisis show that the number of ‘hidden’ homeless will rise by 47% to 13,400 over the next decade, unless the government takes immediate action.
As the term suggests, the ‘hidden’ homeless are not the rough sleepers you may see in your town or city. This group do not always appear in statistics or present at the usual services. They do not have access to suitable, fixed accommodation, but use a range of informal means to avoid sleeping on the streets on a permanent basis. This can mean staying on a friend or relative’s sofa and hopping from place to place.
Homelessness finally appears to be rising up the political agenda, with the introduction of Housing First pilot schemes and the launch of the Homelessness Reduction Taskforce.
Unfortunately, wider decisions in different areas of housing policy have combined to create a cascade of failure, pushing people into this i...
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