Hundreds will be homeless in city this Christmas

ALMOST 900 people in Plymouth will be homeless this Christmas.

- CLARE AINSWORTH

That’s the grim prediction of charity Shelter which says homelessness has risen by 20% in just a year due to the housing crisis.

It predicts that across the wider South West 12,500 people will spend Christmas without a home, including more than 5,300 children.

Shelter’s analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to Freedom of Information requests reveal homelessness in the region has risen rapidly in just 12 months: more than 400 people are sleeping rough on any given night (25% increase) and 11,500 are living in temporary accommodation (19% increase) – most of whom are families.

Shelter’s research also looks at places across the South West where homelessness is most acute.

Bristol has the highest number of people without a home, with 3,200 people homeless, followed by Cornwall where 1,900 people are homeless and Plymouth with 880 people.

Councils have a legal duty to house families and people who are vulnerable, but the acute shortage of affordable homes means they are having to rely on temporary accommodation for long periods. The growing emergency is leaving families stuck for months in grotty hostels, B&Bs, and cramped bedsits, often having to share beds with no, or inadequate, cooking and laundry facilities. People not entitled to accommodation may end up on the streets, sofa-surfing, or in dangerous living conditions.