Rising homelessness among children and families: Help call for change

This autumn, we’re calling for urgent action to help end homelessness and ensure that everyone has a safe, secure place to call home. 

Sadly, housing insecurity and homelessness continue to rise, and our recent survey with leaders of Catholic schools across the Diocese of Salford highlights the growing impact on children and families in Greater Manchester and Lancashire. 

School leaders are reporting increasing levels of homelessness and housing concerns among the families in their school communities.

92 per cent of respondents to our survey have seen child poverty increase over the last year, with housing costs emerging as one of the key causes of hardship for families. 

School leaders described increasing numbers of children experiencing homelessness, living in temporary accommodation, or struggling in overcrowded and unsuitable housing.  Many identified the rising cost of private renting and a shortage of affordable homes as key drivers of housing insecurity.

One respondent said that “families who are in private rental homes are facing huge increases and are struggling”, while another described families “living in one room with two children”. 

The impact on children is significant.

School leaders described how insecure housing affects children’s wellbeing, attendance and ability to learn, with some pupils travelling long distances from temporary accommodation and arriving at school exhausted, hungry and anxious. 

Responses highlighted the connection between housing instability and mental health, and one school leader described how “homelessness raises anxiety and stress within the home”. 

These findings add to the evidence from our services across Greater Manchester and Lancashire, where we meet many people pushed into poverty and homelessness as a result of rising housing costs.  

Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates determine the level of housing support available to private renters on low incomes, but rates have failed to keep pace with rising rents.  As a result, many families face significant shortfalls between the support they receive and the rent they pay, increasing the risks of debt, homelessness and poverty. 

We are calling on the Government to act urgently so that no one is pushed into homelessness because housing support means they cannot afford their rent. 

It is essential that housing support reflects the true cost of renting, so we’re urging the Government to unfreeze LHA rates, restore them to cover the cheapest 30 per cent of rents, and commit to uprating them annually in line with local rent costs. 

We need your help.

As we call for change and raise this issue with decision makers, we need your help.

You can join your voice with ours and write to your local MP, asking them to urge the Government to make these changes at this year’s Autumn Budget. 

Take a look at our guide to writing to your MP, which includes a template letter to help you get started. 

Change is possible and homelessness is not inevitable. By writing to your MP, you can help ensure that the experiences of children and families affected by homelessness are heard and urge policymakers to take action. 

If you work in a school and would like to learn more about how best to support children and families experiencing homelessness, click here to watch a recording of a webinar we hosted which highlights the impact of homelessness and provides practical insights for school staff. 

You can also contact our school service team who can help.  Click here to find out more.

Read more about our campaign to see an end to homelessness and find out other ways to get involved.