‘Women-Only Homeless Facility Helps Me Feel Safe After Abuse’

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A woman living in a new women-only accommodation service has said it has enabled her to “feel safe” and helped her to “rebuild” her life, reports the BBC.

Charmaine turned to alcohol to cope with trauma after experiencing domestic violence and became homeless. She is one of 22 women living in the facility run by The Simon Community that had been a mixed gender hostel. The homeless charity said there was an “urgent and growing need” for women-only spaces.

The accommodation offers private rooms, shared kitchens and living areas, plus support tailored specifically for women experiencing homelessness. Charmaine said when she arrived at the facility and saw 22 beds, but only two or three women there, she felt it was “very overwhelming and quite intimidating”. “For the first couple of weeks I stayed in my room. I found it hard to blend in. I had never been in this environment before. I was frightened,” she said.

Charmaine told BBC News NI it was important to have women-only spaces. “Because of my background. I feel so much more comfortable here. A mixed gender setting is not for everyone,” she said. “It’s my first proper little home that I have lived in independently. I’ve never had my own kitchen, I’ve never had my own sofa, I have never had my own front door key, that is very important to me.”

She added: “It’s my sanctuary. I still get overwhelmed sometimes when I walk into my home and think ‘this is my place’, no one coming through this door unless I let them through. I feel safe.”

The Simon Community said that thousands of women across Northern Ireland are experiencing homelessness. Karen McAlister from the Simon Community said: “We know that when women become homeless they want a choice in relation to feeling safe. What women have told us is that their childhood is often filled with abuse and violence has continued through their adult life and some of that violence has been perpetrated by men and to have a space where it is ‘women-only’ is something that makes them feel safe and secure.”

The charity said that between October 2024 and March 2025, 609 households presented as homeless to the Housing Executive because of domestic violence. Eighty-three per cent of those were women. Ms McAlister added that the charity’s objective was to help women “move out of homelessness”.

English Councils Pay Private Landlords Millions To House Homeless Families

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Data gathered by Generation Rent shows 37 councils spent £31m in 2024-25 in one-off payments to individual landlords, reports The Guardian.

Councils across England are increasingly spending millions of pounds a year in incentive payments to private landlords to persuade them to house homeless families, with campaigners describing it as a “senseless waste of public money”. Data gathered by the campaign group Generation Rent via freedom of information requests showed that 37 councils spent more than £31m on one-off cash payments to private landlords on 10,792 occasions in 2024-25.

The data, from the 32 London councils and the 10 councils outside the capital with the biggest statutory homelessness issues, showed cash-strapped local authorities are increasingly using these payments to encourage landlords to house families who are homeless or facing eviction. In London, the amount being spent by councils on incentives to private landlords has increased by 54% since 2018, the last time data was collected.

Ben Twomey, the chief executive at Generation Rent, said: “The soaring cost of renting and the government’s decision to freeze the local housing allowance has put councils across the country in a near impossible position. In a desperate bid to avoid placing people in temporary accommodation, they’re forced to pay individual landlords sometimes tens of thousands of pounds just for them to agree to rent out their home. It’s a senseless waste of our public money.”

Manchester city council spent the most on landlord incentives, spending £3.3m in 2024-25, with Enfield council in north London spending £2.7m, Ealing council in west London spending £2.3m and Birmingham city council spending £1.7m. Many of these local authorities are facing budget deficits and pushing through cuts to services and council tax hikes. Manchester city council reported an £18m budget gap earlier this year, while Birmingham city council made the largest cuts in local authority history after declaring itself effectively bankrupt.

The highest single one-off payment to a landlord, £15,385, was paid by Southwark council in south London, with many other councils frequently paying more than £10,000 to landlords. In 2018, only one council in London reported paying £10,000 or more in a single incentive payment, while six reported doing so in 2024-25.

Twomey described the rental market as “like the wild west”, with landlords “rigging the system to line their own pockets at the expense of people experiencing homelessness and the local councils that are trying to house them”. He urged the government to unfreeze local housing allowance rates and give metro mayors the powers to limit rent increases to help curb the practice.

Chris Norris, the policy director at the National Residential Landlords Association, said the incentives were a “poor way of funding the housing system” but had come out of an “enormous shortfall between local housing allowance rates in almost every area of the country and market rents”. He said landlords were “increasingly finding that people who are reliant on local housing allowance or universal credit simply can’t afford to rent”, and the incentives allowed landlords to take on families who were likely to fall into arrears.

Norris also said incentives were offered to landlords to get them to take on tenants “perceived to represent a higher risk”, such as people with substance use issues or who had come out of prison. “Frankly, it does a job and it’s probably the least bad option available to a lot of local authorities at the moment,” he said. “It helps landlords cover their costs and to offer accommodation, but it would be far more efficient and equitable if the government actually ensured there was a welfare system that allowed people to access homes in the first place.”

But campaigners said the system was open to abuse, and landlords could play councils off against each other or issue eviction notices in order to gain further payment. Grace Williams, the executive member for housing and regeneration at London Councils, said the capital was grappling with “the most extreme homelessness emergency in the country”, and boroughs were facing huge difficulties meeting their legal duty to find accommodation for homeless residents. “Rather than using expensive hotels and B&Bs, working with local landlords in the private rented sector can secure better outcomes for homeless families and improved value for money,” she said.

Birmingham city council said incentive payments were a “necessary and pragmatic response” to the fact more than 25,000 people in the city were on the housing register. Ealing council said incentive payments helped homeless households overcome barriers in accessing the rented sector, such as lack of credit history, affordability or previous tenancy experience.

A Manchester city council spokesperson said the private rented sector was better value for money, and more appropriate and secure, than the “alternative options of costly hotels and B&Bs”, which were also unlawful except in exceptional circumstances, and time-limited to six weeks.

Single-Parent Families Almost Four Times More Likely To Be Homeless

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Shelter research found there has been a 10% increase in families facing homelessness over the last five years with single-parent families more likely to fall into difficulty, reports The Big Issue.

Single-parent families are almost four times as likely to experience homelessness than those with two parents, Shelter has warned, as more adults and children face losing their home. The housing charity’s analysis of government statistics found 124,210 families in England contacted councils for support in 2024-25 after being threatened with homelessness or losing their home. That’s equivalent to one in every 57 families across the country. But a higher proportion of single-parent families are grappling with homelessness. The figures show 70,630 of the total households were led by a single parent, making up one in every 24 single-parent families across England.

Shelter found a 10% increase in families contacting local authorities for support over the last five years. Homelessness has been rising in recent years, particularly the number of families housed in temporary accommodation. The charity has launched a new TV advert with HSBC UK to highlight the grim conditions thousands of families are living in. The ad, set to a cover version of Madness’ Our House, follows one family’s story as they navigate life in temporary accommodation.

“It’s utterly disgraceful that across the country, more and more families are being pushed to the brink of homelessness,” said Nadeem Khan, Shelter’s emergency helpline manager. “Soaring rents, low incomes, and a chronic shortage of social homes mean that even parents who work tirelessly to put food on the table are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Every day, we hear from people living with the constant fear that they could lose their home the moment an eviction notice drops through their letterbox. Many are skipping meals just to cover rent, cutting back on essentials, and making impossible choices simply to stay afloat.”

That’s the experience facing Angela Carruthers, who has been homeless for two years and is currently living in temporary accommodation in Birmingham.

Carruthers and her children have been moved three times since losing their home of 12 years. When the family moved into their current accommodation – late at night after a long shift at work – there was no electricity, and the boiler was broken. They spent five days without heating, hot water or power before repairs were finally carried out.

Carruthers contacted Shelter after being threatened with eviction when she couldn’t keep up with the housing costs in her temporary accommodation. Support from one of the charity’s housing advisers helped Carruthers and her kids stay in their current home. “We were in our home for over 12 years, and it was perfect. The kids loved it, their school and my work was down the road, everything just worked. Then the landlord sold up and we were evicted. I couldn’t get a viewing anywhere – the private rents were impossible,” said Carruthers.

“That’s when we ended up in temporary accommodation. It was freezing; no boiler, no heating, no hot water – we were washing with kettle water out of a bowl. It felt inhumane. I’m working full-time but still can’t cover the rent. I’ve had to borrow money just to feed my kids. We should be out living life, but we can’t. When I got an email saying we were being evicted again, I was at breaking point. I didn’t know how I could keep going. When I spoke to Shelter, they were the first people who really listened. They helped me stay in this property – just knowing someone was there took some of the pressure off.”

Shelter found single-parent families were disproportionately affected across all areas of England but the risk facing families varied in different parts of the country. London and the North East, which saw 24% and 31% rises in homelessness among single-parent families over the last five years, were singled out as being particularly badly affected. The research will be food for thought for the government as parliament returns.

Labour is set to lay out its cross-governmental long-term strategy to tackle homelessness in the weeks ahead and has pledged to spend £1bn to “turn the tide” on homelessness and rough sleeping. But the government currently doesn’t have a homelessness minister in place to lead its efforts after Rushanara Ali quit her post last month over a rent hike scandal.

Shelter’s new campaign aims to draw attention to the issue as numbers continue to spiral out of control. Natalie Gregoire-Skeete, HSBC UK’s head of societal purpose and sustainability, said: “With over 124,000 families in England at risk of homelessness, the ‘Our House’ campaign paints the stark reality faced by far too many families in the UK.”

A Charity Is Giving People Money To Stop Homelessness

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… and it says it’s working, reports the BBC.

When Laura Burns was asked to leave her flat as her landlord was selling up, she discovered she didn’t have enough money to move. Energy debts and removal costs meant she needed hundreds of pounds to get a new flat. Feeling trapped and facing eviction, the mother-of-one turned to a charity and asked for £600. The money came through almost instantly. “I was like, ‘oh my goodness’, this is a weight off my mind,” says the 32-year-old from Didcot, in Oxfordshire. “There are no words to describe leaving that stress behind.”

Greater Change, the charity that helped Laura, believes giving money to people who are homeless or those at risk of losing their properties with few strings attached can help tackle homelessness. So far this year, it says the charity has paid out £699,000 to 403 people. The initiative is small in scale – the homeless charity Shelter estimated there were more than 350,000 homeless people in England at the end of last year. But Greater Change says the scheme has the potential to save money in the long-run. “We’re giving people dignity of choice,” says the charity’s chief executive, Jonathan Tan. “Very often, in a homelessness pathway, it feels like it’s things being done to you and so we’re giving people the ability to make choices about their lives.”

The money is paid out through a support worker and the charity says it will listen to all requests for help. It says people typically spend the money on rent deposits, bills or tackling debts. Greater Change, which was formed by two university friends in 2018, is funded from donations, philanthropists, grant-making bodies and councils. It says its approach saves taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds per client by preventing people from becoming homeless and therefore needing support from their local authority. “We’re happy to fund anything under the sun as long as it aligns with the individual’s ambitions and helps them to take that next big step out of homelessness,” says Mr Tan. The charity says 86% of people it has supported moved into stable housing, with almost half finding a job.

But one concern is homeless people could spend the money on feeding addictions. Asked how the charity ensures the money it gives out isn’t spent on drugs and alcohol, Mr Tan says: “The first and most important thing to say is the international evidence is that people tend to make pretty good choices.”

He says almost half of those supported were able to get a job. One of the studies he points to is the New Leaf project, in Vancouver, Canada. It gave 50 people who were homeless around £4,000 (CAD$7,500) each directly rather than via a support worker. It also monitored another 65 homeless people who they didn’t help. A follow-up study showed that after a year, those who had received the money spent fewer days without a home. There was also no evidence that they had increased spending on things like drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

A smaller scale project in the UK has shown similar results. The Personal Grants project, which involved 81 people, led by the London-based St Martin-in-the-Fields charity working alongside organisations in Glasgow, Oxford and Swansea, paid money directly into the bank accounts of homeless people. The Personal Grants project has not had “a single adverse incident among any participants”, according to the Centre for Homelessness Impact, which also worked on the scheme. They say people spent the money on furniture, books, clothes or simply saved it. “None spent the money on drugs, alcohol, or gambling,” say the Centre. They are now recruiting 250 people in Belfast and London to test the concept on a larger scale, with the project overseen by researchers from Kings College, London.

Greater Change acknowledges that its support is most effective when it is used as an early intervention – when someone is sofa surfing, or at risk of homelessness – rather than for helping entrenched rough sleepers who might need intensive mental health support for instance. Various campaigns over the years have actively discouraged people from giving money to people on the streets, arguing the funds could be misused. These projects also do not tackle the fundamental cause of most homelessness – there is a widespread acknowledgement that a lack of affordable housing is the key to solving the crisis and the government has committed to building 1.5m homes by August 2029. But the charity says such innovative schemes can be extremely helpful to some people.

Since receiving her grant, Laura Burns’ life has been transformed – she now has a new home, a job and is about to get married. The money she received was the right help, at the right time. “I know you don’t get much for £600 these days. But for me it was a life-saving amount of money. Life is now dandy.”

Thousands Of Refugees Facing Homelessness

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Refugees will have less time to try and find new accommodation when evicted from Home Office hotels, reports The Independent.

Thousands of refugees could face homelessness this winter after the Home Office reversed a policy wing migrants more time to find accommodation before they are evicted from hotels. Asylum seekers are housed in hotels around the country while they wait for their claims to be processed, but when they receive a successful refugee grant — enabling them to live and work in the UK — they are evicted.

In December last year, Labour extended the time that people had before eviction from 28 days to 56 days after councils and charities raised concerns that thousands of refugees were turning up homeless. However, ministers have now reversed this decision, with charities warning that they will face a surge of homeless refugees.

Alex Fraser, British Red Cross director of refugee services said: “Reducing the ‘move-on’ period will increase levels of homelessness and destitution for people granted protection and put additional pressure on local authorities. The numbers don’t add up. It takes around 35 days to receive Universal Credit. Local authorities need 56 days to work with households at risk of homelessness. Giving people only 28 days to find work, housing or support isn’t enough time. Making people destitute ends up costing the taxpayer more money and causing distress and hardship. We urge the government to review this decision.”

Councils were increasingly swamped by requests for emergency housing help from homeless refugees throughout 2024, data shared with The Independent showed. There are more than 32,000 asylum seekers living in hotels, government data from June 2025 says.

Steve Smith, CEO of Care4Calais, said: “The 56-day move on period didn’t solve everything, but it did put refugees who have just been granted protection on the same statutory footing as every other citizen in the UK. Cutting the move-on period back to 28-days isn’t just bad for newly granted refugees, it’s bad for our communities and extremely bad for councils who are picking up the tab of increasing homelessness. Sadly, this regressive move is in keeping with the daily onslaught of policies which are aimed at making life harder for people seeking sanctuary in this country, not fixing the glaring problems with the UK’s broken asylum system.”

A government spokesperson said: “This government inherited a broken asylum and immigration system. We are taking practical steps to turn that chaos around — including doubling asylum decision-making to clear the backlog left by the previous government, and reducing the number of people in hotels by 6,000 in the first half of 2025. We continue to work with local councils, NGOs and other stakeholders to ensure any necessary assistance is provided for those individuals who are granted refugee status.”

Vulnerable People At Risk Of Homelessness

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More than a decade of funding cuts has pushed specialist homes to the brink, with 50,000 at risk of closing their doors, a survey by the National Housing Federation (NHF) found, reports the Mirror.

One in 10 homes for vulnerable or disabled people face closure, leaving tens of thousands at risk of homelessness or being stuck in hospital. More than a decade of funding cuts has pushed specialist homes to the brink, with 50,000 at risk of closing their doors without an urgent cash injection, a survey by the National Housing Federation (NHF) found. Supported housing helps those with a range of complex needs, including young people leaving care, survivors of domestic abuse, older people and veterans, people with mental health needs and people with learning disabilities. Without these homes, an additional 71,000 people could be homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Analysis found it would create the need for 14,000 more inpatient psychiatric places, 2,500 residential care places and 2,000 more prison places. Shortages of supported housing last year resulted in 109,029 days of delayed discharge from mental health hospitals, costing the NHS an estimated £71million.

NHF chief Kate Henderson said: “For years, providers have had no choice but to reduce services because of cuts to funding and increasing financial pressures. Thousands of supported homes have been lost over the last few years alone and these residents are having their quality of life and opportunities taken away, as well as being at risk of homelessness. The government must urgently come up with a plan to identify long-term, sustainable funding, alongside emergency funding for supported housing, to prevent more schemes having to close their doors.”

The number of supported homes across England has fallen below the level in 2007, with a 325,000 shortfall of homes, the NHF said. Over half (56%) of the 126 providers surveyed warned they had schemes at imminent risk of closing without an urgent cash injection, A fifth (22%) said they may have to close all their services entirely, without emergency and long-term funding. The National Audit Office estimates that funding for supported housing was cut by 75% between 2010 and 2020, leaving providers struggling to support the same services with £1bn less every year. Meanwhile providers face pressure from inflation and rising energy bills, as well as building safety repairs and staffing costs.

Stephen Battersby, 59, who has bipolar disorder and some learning disabilities, was forced to move into a secure unit for nine months following the deaths of his parents. But moving into Nicholas Court, a supported housing scheme run by Advance in London, in 2019 has allowed him to build a life for himself. Maria Mahmood, who has been working with him for four years, said: “When he first came, Stephen was very withdrawn and didn’t leave his bedroom. He also didn’t have the knowledge and understanding of why it’s important to clean and maintain your own home, socialise with others. Now, he has the confidence to take part in activities, prepare meals with staff and even present his artwork in public – something Stephen would have never even considered when he first came to us.”

Julie Layton, chief executive of Advance, said: “A good quality home for everybody is a basic fundamental thing. People can grow and thrive if they have safe and secure housing.” She added: “It just feels like a tragedy to be in this position of the most vulnerable people in society at risk of losing their homes and support because there isn’t sustainable funding in place.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Everyone deserves to live in a safe, secure home, and we are taking decisive action to make this a reality with supported housing playing a vital role in our communities. Through our Plan for Change we are delivering the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in a generation, with a £39 billion investment, work with local authorities to enable them to better understand their supported housing needs and ensuring providers meet the national standards set out by the Supported Housing Act.”

Are Thousands Of Asylum Seekers About To Be Kicked Out Of Hotels?

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The Big Issue asks: ‘While campaigners, the government and anti-immigration protesters all want to see the end of asylum hotels, what does it mean for the people inside?’

The need to end the use of asylum hotels is seemingly the only thing that all sides of the immigration debate agree on. But it remains to be seen whether this week’s landmark High Court ruling in Epping sees other local authorities force asylum seekers to move out. The court ruling in Epping has already inspired councils elsewhere to consider challenging the Home Office over asylum hotels in their area.

Government figures released in the days following the court decisions showed 32,059 asylum seekers are being housed in hotels across England as of the end of June. That’s up 8% on the same point last year but down slightly on statistics from March and the peak of 56,042 back in September 2023. Those figures could decline further if other local authorities have their way. The temporary injunction in Epping, which will see asylum seekers housed in The Bell Hotel leave by 12 September, has already seen other local authorities report they are considering legal action.

All Reform-led councils, Conservative-run Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and Labour-run councils in Wirral and Tamworth are among the authorities with asylum seeker hotels considering action. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also urged Tory-run councils to challenge. To be successful, the councils would have to follow Epping’s lead to prove that the change of use for the hotels was unlawful and that had led to a risk of harm. A final decision on the situation at The Bell Hotel will follow later this year. But it is more likely that local authorities risk wasting money fighting legal challenges they are unlikely to win, according to Faraz Baber, chief operating officer at planning consultancy at Lanpro.

Baber said the government needs to act to provide clarity. It has the option to extend the C1 class of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 to cover hotel services or allow permitted development rights for C1 to ‘sue generis’ – meaning they can be used for a wider purpose. “Both would prevent a wave of unnecessary legal disputes,” said Baber. “The Bell Hotel case shows the ambiguity in planning law – without urgent action the same confusion will spread across the country. We must not let politics cloud rational planning. At its heart, this is a planning issue – and planning is about balance and pragmatism. Unless the government acts quickly, we risk seeing thousands of vulnerable people caught in limbo – while councils waste resources fighting battles they cannot win.”

Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association, which represents councils across England and Wales, said councils need to be given a bigger say in asylum accommodation decisions whether they can pursue legal action or not. “lt will, of course, be for individual councils to determine what this ruling means for them. We know that asylum and resettlement is linked to wider issues such as housing pressures and community cohesion and that the spread of misinformation remains a concern. Councils are working to help keep communities united during this period,” said Gittins. “In the meantime, we continue to stress to government that the Home Office must work much more closely with councils regarding asylum accommodation decisions and on improving the current asylum system in the long-term. Councils understand their places and communities best and the Home Office should be drawing on this experience in any locating decisions and through the existing engagement around asylum and resettlement that the LGA facilitates.”

Labour has vowed to end the use of asylum hotels by 2029. That’s because they are costly – the use of hotels as asylum accommodation is considered six times more expensive than other accommodation, according to the University of Oxford’s Migrant Observatory – and the accommodation is described as inappropriate. Campaigners and charities supporting asylum seekers liken hotel accommodation as “prison-like”. It’s far from the fully funded luxury stay described in some quarters, with those living in hotel accommodation receiving £8.86 per week from the government. But a shortage of suitable accommodation and a growing backlog for asylum decisions in recent years has seen the need for asylum accommodation grow, particularly as asylum seekers wait for decisions on their claims or the result of their appeals.

Government figures released this week showed the asylum claims backlog has fallen below 100,000 people for the first time in four years, now standing at just over 70,000 cases and relating to almost 91,000 people. That’s an 18% fall on levels seen a year earlier. That represents a measure of success for Labour, but the number of people claiming asylum is at a record-high 110,000 and there is now a backlog for appeals after initial asylum decisions were rejected.

Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “Bringing the asylum system back from the brink of collapse is a genuine achievement in the government’s first year. The increase in asylum decisions means refugees can begin to rebuild their lives sooner, and the use of costly hotels can be ended faster. However, this good work is being put at risk by poor-quality decisions – right now nearly half of appeals are successful. These mistakes have life-changing consequences for the people we work with, who have fled persecution in countries like Sudan and Afghanistan.”

What is the solution to asylum hotels?

So far, solutions to the usage of hotels as asylum accommodation have been hard to come by aside from Labour’s pledge to reduce net migration and the asylum backlog. The use of Napier Barracks and the Bibby Stockholm Barge proved politically difficult amid fears over cost and safety for asylum seekers. Increasing the use of dispersal accommodation could see more asylum seekers placed in houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) or private rented homes instead.

Around 17,000 asylum seekers were housed in dispersal accommodation across the country as of December 2024, each receiving £49.18 per week from the government to cover food, clothing and other essentials. These, too, have proven controversial with asylum seekers being placed in communities with little support to aid integration whipping up tensions. In Durham, the Reform UK-led local council in June said that Mears Group had paused housing asylum seekers in HMOs in the area. It has since been claimed as a success for Reform. Durham County Council deputy leader and political commentator Darren Grimes said: “Council officers have raised concerns about the suitability of some properties for acquisition and conversion, particularly regarding local infrastructure capacity and service provision.”

Lanpro’s Faraz Baber said that, ultimately, the planning system needs to keep up with the issue. Labour has already promised a swathe of planning reforms to tackle the housing crisis and boost economic growth. “Planning law is at the heart of this issue, and it is planning that must provide a rational and balanced way forward,” said Baber. “The debate has become too emotive. We must not allow political anger to obscure the practical reality: asylum seekers must be housed somewhere, and the planning system must be adapted to reflect this need.”

There are some proposed solutions that could help reduce the need for hotels. The government could soften the stance on asylum seekers being allowed to work while their claim is being processed, allowing them to sustain themselves and reducing the need for government support. Marley Morris, associate director for migration, trade and communities at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank, said the Home Office will need to expand the stock of temporary accommodation, much like councils around England are doing to deal with record-high homelessness. “In the long run, it [the Home Office] should move to a decentralised model of accommodation with greater local oversight, in order to help manage some of the tensions with local councils, which have reached a height,” said Morris.

Meanwhile, Soha Housing chief executive Kate Wareing laid out a plan for the government to end the use of hotels last year. Wareing proposed a capital fund from central government of £1.75 billion to enable the purchase and renovation of 14,000 to 16,000 homes to be let at local housing allowance rates. The idea would be that this reduces the costs from the asylum system. Wareing said that the average payback period compared to current hotel revenue costs in the asylum system would be just seven months. Long-term, this housing would then be used to boost social landlords’ stock of general needs housing for long-term rent, available for allocation to the general population.

That just leaves Labour, who have committed to spending £39bn on affordable and social housing over the next decade, to make the political case for spending the cash. That’s no easy task in the current political climate with Keir Starmer’s unpopularity reaching a low point in the polls and the threat of wider unrest still on the horizon. “We do not underestimate the challenges involved in building political and public support for this shift in approach, and indeed for any proposal that seeks to address the housing needs of asylum seekers in the context of a severe national housing crisis,” said Wareing. “Yet we are convinced the considerable benefits this proposal offers across a whole range of urgent political priorities will make this possible.”

‘I Was Homeless And Living On The Streets – Now I’m An England Football Player’

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David Kennedy is one of a hand-picked squad representing England at the Homeless World Cup in Oslo, reports The Mirror.

A team of formidable footballers are striking out for England and hoping to replicate the success of the Lionesses at the 20th annual Homeless World Cup in Oslo next week.  Finishing second to Mexico last year, the England line-up have their sights firmly set on the trophy, as they compete against 39 other countries between August 23 and 30. And all the teams are made up of players who have experienced homelessness. The initiative was launched in 2003 and, since then, football has been playing its part to tackle homelessness and social isolation.

Striker David Kennedy, 28, says football allows him to “get out of my head” when he’s on the pitch – and he’s built life-long friendships with his teammates, too. “I had a rough childhood and was in and out of hostels for a lot of it,” he tells The Mirror, ahead of the tournament. David, who is originally from Sunderland and now lives in Newcastle, was hand-picked for the squad because of his promising talent. But, his life used to be very different.

“I find it tough to talk about now,” he admits. “It wasn’t easy. I went down the wrong path at a young age. It took me a long time to realise the importance of friendship groups and surrounding myself with good people.” David’s behaviour became “uncontrollable” when he hit his teenage years and he was placed in foster care. “There’ve been many occasions where I’ve slept on the streets,” he says. “I wasn’t the best behaved as a teenager. I never had that family union thing”

But the birth of his son, now four, helped David start the process of turning his life around after he met girlfriend Tyler, who was also going through homelessness. “He’s a cheeky chap, he must take after his father!” smiles David. “He’s a blessing. He’s done everything for me. I wasn’t in a very good place but I met my partner in a hostel and everything in my life changed. All I do now is go to work and play football. It’s a good life.”

After experiencing everything from sofa-surfing at mates’ houses to sleeping rough, through homelessness, David says the only way to get through it is to “never give up”. “You’ve just got to be strong mentally,” he says. “No matter how low you are, and no matter how far down the line you feel, there’s always an up. There’s a higher place. Just never give up.” David’s mental health deteriorated during his periods of homelessness – at one point making him feel suicidal. “Now I look at my life and I’m just grateful for everything that I have around me,” he says.

Admitting he needed help was the starting point. “You need to find the right support network; you need to make the effort to make yourself available to get help when you need help instead of shutting off from the world” he points out. “Unfortunately, you won’t get anywhere without a bit of help. And it took a lot out of me to admit that, growing up.”

From a young age, playing football helped David take his mind off his living conditions. “As I’ve gone through things, the more I’ve played, the more football is like an escape mechanism,” he explains. “It takes me away from all my problems. I always think about my childhood and things like that, but on the pitch I can clear my mind and just focus on the game.”

Squad manager Craig McManus – who has previously been homeless himself – says he couldn’t be prouder of all his players for their work on and off the pitch. “The big thing for us is changing perspective and stigma, so when we speak to David, we don’t see David’s childhood; we see David the way he is today and the direction he’s going in,” says Craig. “That’s why he’s been selected – not just because he’s a great footballer, but he’s got a real opportunity in his life and he’s worked so hard to get where he is today.”

All of the Team England players have been hand-picked from Street Soccer London and its partners in the north of England. Street Soccer London organises weekly training sessions for men and women who are, or have experienced, homelessness, and has seen a 94% reduction in rough sleeping in its members since launching in 2009. “We’ve got a team of athletes here who have the chance to represent our country and are also learning skills that are so important in day-to-day life,” says Craig. “It’s about how they prepare for a training session, raising their own standards, learning how to get themselves ready on and off the pitch, and hopefully these develop into real life skills. We have high hopes for them now, that they’ll move on to bigger, better things. I think what we do is give them the platform to hopefully grow and then move on – whatever they feel is right.”

Player Kaydan Fenton, 23, from London, spent some time sleeping in a shed after family tensions boiled over. “I felt under pressure to move out,” he says. But football, through Street Soccer London, became a lifeline. “It gives me a chance to express myself on the pitch, to clear my mind for a second and just focus on the game. Football is an outlet for me and I have a passion for it.”

Being homeless, he adds, is never easy. “It puts you in uncomfortable positions and sometimes people feel pressured into doing things they don’t want to do in order to survive.”

One football star who knows exactly what it’s like to walk a mile in their boots is former Lioness Fara Williams MBE, who retired from England in 2021 and was there to commentate on the 2022 Women’s Euro final. She has previously spoken of how isolating it was to be living on the streets after a family relationship breakdown when she was 17, and how she pretended to her teammates that everything at home was fine. “People have a judgement of who should be homeless and who shouldn’t, and I felt people would judge me,” Fara said in 2014. “I put on a brave face and lived my life as a normal person would, as though I was living at home.”

Now a mentor for players at the Homeless World Cup, Fara also credited football with turning her life around, after former England coach Hope Powell found out about her situation when Fara was representing the U-19s.

She escaped homelessness in her 20s after getting work as an FA community coach and moving to Merseyside. Fara went on to help transform the women’s game, and made a record 172 appearances for England between 2001 and 2019.

And, as England prepares to take on the other teams in the tournament, David hopes his team can bring home the trophy for the first time. “The opportunity to represent my country in Oslo is life-changing,” he grins. “It gives me a sense of pride. I hope when my son is a teenager I’ll be able to look back and show him what I did.”

Man Using Homelessness Experience To Help Others

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“I have a passion for helping people. I get a kick out of people coming out the other side”, reports the BBC.

When Steve Young, 36, from Swindon, experienced a relationship breakdown, it left him and his nine-year-old daughter homeless for 10 months. They were put in emergency accommodation, often with other families, which he said had been “very daunting” for his daughter. “I suffered. I had a relapse in my mental health, my job fell through, it was a very bad time,” Mr Young said.

But after getting help from social services and finding long-term accommodation, he secured a role as a support worker at Swindon charity, Threshold, which has released a short film to raise awareness around homelessness. “I was over the moon, I couldn’t believe the opportunity I was given,” Mr Young said about being given the job.

Threshold has been tackling homelessness in Swindon for more than 50 years and helps nearly 100 rough sleepers every night. But homelessness is a growing problem in the town, according to figures collected by Shelter in 2024. The data showed the number of homeless people in Swindon had increased by 26% in a year, from 784 people in June 2023 to 984 in June 2024. Figures also showed the number of children who are homeless in the town had gone up from 352 to 469 in the same 12-month period.

Threshold has released a short film with Create Studios, called Jacob’s Story, which is based on a person the charity worked with in the past. It shows how relationship breakdowns can quickly lead to someone becoming homeless, and the impact it can have on mental health. The film challenges the negative stigmas and misconceptions faced by people living on the streets.

Mr Young said it upsets him that people still hold prejudices against people who are homeless. “Everyone has their own reason of why they’re in that situation. I believe that everyone wants to help themselves in a certain way, but they haven’t always been given the opportunities to do so,” he added. Wiltshire actor, Tom McMillan, stars as Jacob in the film. “It’s an authentic story and it’s something I wanted to tell, to raise awareness for a cause that needs to be talked about more,” he said.

Rachel Harris, Threshold’s communications manager, said she felt the film was an important way to bring the harsh realities of homelessness to life. “It’s not about the assumptions you make about people you see on the street, it’s about the person behind that and how they have come into that situation. Seeing it through a story of somebody who’s really been there and their true experiences can have a lot more impact than just showing people the information on a piece of paper.”

Mr Young now uses his experiences to help others who are in similar circumstances. “If someone is really struggling to get their head around what’s going on with them at the time, I can definitely say, ‘I’ve been in your shoes, anyone can change their life if they put their mind to it’.”

Swindon Borough Council member Janine Howarth said: “Tackling homelessness is a priority for the council and we work closely with Threshold to achieve this. “We have a safe reception space for vulnerable residents to make homelessness applications and discuss personal circumstances, a range of accommodation and support services and a specialist Rough Sleeper Housing Options officer.”

Liverpool Homeless Charity Given £30k Grant To Mark 50 Years

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A Liverpool charity for homeless people has been awarded a £30,700 grant by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to mark its 50th anniversary, reports the BBC.

The Whitechapel Centre works with people who are sleeping rough, living in hostels or struggling to manage their accommodation.

The charity said the money would fund a project examining how homelessness has changed since 1975.

The Whitechapel Centre’s chief executive David Carter said the project would “share the evolving issues in the last five decades, how we’ve supported those facing homelessness – and the many stories of transformed lives”.

“We’re thrilled to have received this support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund,” said Mr Carter.

The project will develop a social history and a timeline and will feature in an exhibition at the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool later in the year.

National Lottery Heritage Fund director Helen Featherstone said the Whitechapel Centre had “been doing important work for many years related to homelessness in Liverpool”.

She added: “We are delighted to be supporting the charity, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, to explore and share the history of homelessness in the city, and how it has changed throughout the 50 years the charity has been in operation.”

The free exhibition will run from 25 September to 19 October.