The Homeless Fund: Women at forefront of an unprecedented homelessness crisis

Pauline sits in an underpass in Charing Cross after being homeless for 10 months
Getty Images

Evidence gathered by the London Homeless Collective demonstrates the unprecedented homelessness crisis we face — and the need for action through our appeal.

Sixty households a day became homeless in London in the past year — the equivalent of one every 24 minutes — according to a new analysis of official statistics by the charity Shelter.

This has left 88,320 children in a form of temporary accommodation in the capital, according to government statistics. Research from Crisis also exposes the desperate situation of people who live on the streets.

Ten per cent said they had experienced being urinated on, and a third reported having been attacked while sleeping rough. The situation for female rough sleepers is particularly dire, with about one in three reporting having experienced sexual violence.

Homelessness charity The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields found that women were more likely to stay in abusive relationships to avoid the range of dangers posed by life on the streets.

Woman on the street in central London
NIGEL HOWARD ©

Despite this, there is no pan-London women’s homelessness strategy.

That is why one of the first objectives of this appeal will be to establish a dedicated cross-sector hub at The Connection to provide support for women experiencing homelessness.

Chief executive Pam Orchard said: “The proportion of rough sleepers who are women is going up. Ten years ago it was probably around 10 or 12 per cent across the whole of London. Last year it was 18 per cent, and in Westminster it’s 22 per cent. This is an unprecedented level of women’s homelessness.

“We need to change the service delivery to meet what is very clearly an emerging need.”

This week, a survey by the Royal College of Midwives found almost all midwives had seen a pregnant woman who was homeless in the past six months.

Shelter estimates more than 277,000 people are without a permanent home in England, including 170,000 in London.

If action is not taken now, experts warn, tens of thousands more vulnerable people will be homeless in the UK within a decade, with the numbers of “hidden homeless” — such as people sofa-surfing by staying a few nights with friends before moving to another — reaching about 140,000 by 2041.

This year’s Christmas campaign is for The Homeless Fund, which will finance desperately needed services. The campaign will highlight the worst instances of homelessness globally, with money raised going to help homeless projects in London.

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