Children in crisis
Child homelessness is a hidden problem in Britain.
These children are not on the streets. They are officially classed as homeless and live in temporary accommodation.
Because we don’t see them, it’s easy to think the problem doesn’t exist, yet the number of homeless children – nearly 130,000 – would fill Wembley Stadium one and a half times.
These children spend their childhoods on the move between temporary housing, which is often crowded, unsuitable and unfit. Growing up homeless traps them on the margins of society, isolated and ‘different’.
The children we have spoken to are sharing bedrooms with their parents, brothers and sisters. Some are forced to do their homework on top of fridges or on bathroom floors. They can miss a lot of school when they are moved, and lose any friends they have previously made. Some say they can’t get warm at night; others are kept awake by the sound of rats.
The shocking facts about child homelessness:
- Homeless children miss on average a quarter of their schooling.
- They are more likely to be bullied, and six times more likely to suffer from speech problems such as stammering.
- They are three times as likely to be anxious and depressed.
- The British Medical Association says homelessness poses as great a risk to health as does smoking.
- These problems continue into adulthood. Homeless children are more likely to fail at school, to develop emotional problems later in life and to become homeless as an adult.
A generation of children is being set up to fail.
- Keys to the Future is a Shelter project. Visit the Shelter website.