MORE than 56,000 people can be homeless at Christmas despite being in work, recent research from the Salvation Army suggests.
It calculates that 32,138 individuals are registered as homeless, despite the fact that they’re in full-time work, and an additional 24,104 are working part-time, and yet are still and not using a home.
Analysing government figures of those registered as homeless, but with a job, in England, then assuming the identical proportion in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland — since those nations don’t collect this data — the charity estimates that 56,242 staff within the UK are registered as homeless and dealing across the 4 UK nations.
Full-time or part-time staff make up nearly one quarter of the registered homeless, the charity says. Someone with a job becomes homeless every ten minutes, it estimates.
The Salvation Army’s director of homelessness services, Nick Redmore, said: “Our findings shatter the belief that each one anyone who’s homeless must do is just get a job. Sky-high rents and mortgage rates combined with the rising cost of living, plus long waiting lists for council housing, mean a salary doesn’t guarantee a house.
“Most people earning the minimum wage are employed in sectors which are an important a part of the Christmas workforce that helps everyone benefit from the festive season, corresponding to retail and leisure, food production and distribution, hospitality, and catering. It’s scandalous that hard-working people within the UK can’t even afford a spot to live.”
Some were resorting to sleeping in boxes, cars, and tents, while attempting to hold down jobs, he said.
The Salvation Army is looking on the Government to extend housing advantages according to inflation. Rents increased by 8.4 per cent on average within the UK, and 9.8 per cent in London, in 2023; but the quantity of housing allowance was frozen within the October budget. The Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, said that local housing allowance — local rates that determine how much housing profit individuals are entitled to — is to be frozen at current levels until 2026.
The Salvation Army described the freeze as a “huge financial blow” to people already struggling, and said that rising rents would depart many purchasers with a monthly shortfall of £100.
The Conservative Government froze the speed for seven out of the past 12 years.
One Salvation Army client, Michael, has spent the past five months living in a tent, while working in a bar. He has been using Salvation Army facilities to shower and wash his clothes.
“There is a giant misconception of individuals considering those that are sleeping rough are unemployed; this simply isn’t all the time the case,” he said. “I used to be working, earning a living, but I just couldn’t save the cash to get a spot to remain. Living in a tent, you are feeling worthless. I kept myself hidden within the deepest parts of the park. Each morning, I might stand up for work and go to do my shift, leaving all the things in my tent. I’ve worked all my life, and I used to be still working, but didn’t have anywhere to go. It was tough to simply accept, and I had pride.
“Working with the general public, it was vital to decorate the part and be well presented. I couldn’t let anyone know where I used to be living. I might go to the Salvation Army to scrub, they usually gave me toiletries to make use of and towels and a hot breakfast; so I used to be ready for my working day, and nobody would have guessed where I had slept.”
In the Budget, the Government pledged £230 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the following yr.
