What if...
What if…
…no one raised money for homelessness charities?
Social worker
Simon Bream
From my perspective, homelessness charities perform a vital role in helping families and single people who are under tremendous stress.
The kind of problems a social worker might have to deal with, such as mental illness, domestic violence, or relationship breakdown are often at the root of homelessness – and poor or insecure housing can contribute to stress and mental health problems. Housing charities can help break this vicious spiral.
Some groups of people are particularly vulnerable to homelessness, and housing charities and social workers can work together to coordinate support. Groups at risk include young people leaving home for the first time; older people; people with children; people with physical or mental health problems; people on benefits or low incomes; people leaving care; ex-prisoners; and asylum seekers and refugees.
You don’t have to be on the streets to be homeless and in need of help. Many people are put up by friends or relatives, sleeping on floors or sofas; some might be in hostels or bed and breakfast accommodation; others might be overcrowded, which puts their health at risk.
Social workers are especially involved in helping families with children. Families may have been accepted as homeless by their local councils, but placed in temporary accommodation while waiting for suitable rented housing – according to Shelter, there are more than 122,000 children in this position across England.
When this happens, schooling is often disrupted, it’s hard to arrange adequate healthcare, and stresses such as relationship breakdown or unemployment are compounded. Social workers will often direct such families to housing advice workers who can help explain their rights and entitlements and can act as their advocates.
For single people the situation is often even more difficult, as they have few rights to housing. Social workers will often work with housing charities to assess the situation of vulnerable single homeless people and recommend appropriate support. Without the specialist knowledge of housing advisers, it would be much harder for social workers to offer help.
Homelessness charity worker
Ian Morris
Charities that help and advise homeless or poorly housed people are essential because homelessness continues to be a major social problem.
Although local councils have a duty to help some homeless people, there are many who do not have a statutory right to be housed, and even those with such rights often have to wait months or even years before finding adequate accommodation.
Charities bridge the gap. They don’t just provide a roof over someone’s head; as well as running hostels and emergency accommodation, they provide much-needed advice and liaise with government agencies to help meet homeless people’s needs.
The scale of the issue is often underestimated. In the fourth quarter of 2006, according to official figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government, 17,310 households were accepted as homeless across England. While this was a fall of 3% on the previous quarter, there were still 89,510 homeless households living in temporary accommodation, almost twice as many as in December 1997.
While some charities get funding from the government or the Lottery to help homeless people, they also depend on public donations. Shelter, for example, raised £19m from donations and gifts in 2006, as well as £7m from its shops, which sell second-hand items. Another £3.5m was left to Shelter in wills.
Donations from the public ensure homelessness charities can continue to act independently, criticising government policy when necessary and lobbying for changes, such as more provision of affordable housing.
