Oxfordshire charity worries homelessness will rise after “shocking” figures
Research suggests 354,000 people were homeless on a single night this year in England
Last updated 12th Dec 2024
An Oxfordshire charity is worried that the number of people experiencing homelessness will rise in 2025.
They are calling for the Government to provide more affordable housing and a long-term strategy to help end rough sleeping.
New research from Shelter suggests 354,000 people were living in temporary accommodation or on the streets on a single night this year.
More than 161,000 of those were children.
‘Small increases can make a big difference’
Yvonne Pinner, Project Director at Oxfordshire Homeless Movement says the statistic could be even worse as many people go undetected.
She said: “There’s a wider issue of homelessness which can hidden homelessness, such as people sleeping in their tents, vans or people that we don’t necessarily see. So, that figure is much harder to get a fix on.”
Ms Pinner is calling on Kier Starmer’s government to make changes to help tackle the issue of homelessness, she said: “If the government would focus on the wider homelessness challenge rather than rough sleeping, that would be a massive step forward.
“We would also like to see a longer-term strategy, where there’s some real boost to building more affordable housing as that’s the thing that will prevent the wider homelessness problem getting any worse.”
The statistics have risen by 14% compared to last year, and there are worries that figure could jump again.
Ms Pinner said: “I suspect that we will see numbers rising, not least because of the increase to the cost of living.”
She added: “Ultimately, if house prices keep going up, the cost of living keeps going up, then that drives more people right to the edge because people live on such a tight budget anyway.
“These small increases can make quite a big difference.”
“These figures are shocking”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "These figures are shocking, and they show the devastating reality of the homelessness crisis which we have inherited.
"No-one should have to spend Christmas without a home and this Government is taking urgent action to get us back on track to ending homelessness, including committing £1 billion in funding to support homelessness services.
"We will go even further to fix these housing challenges by building the social and affordable homes we need as part of our Plan for Change while the Deputy Prime Minister is also chairing a new inter-ministerial group dedicated to tackling the root causes of homelessness."
Where to find help:
Oxfordshire Homeless Movement encourages anyone currently experiencing homelessness or anyone that's worried about becoming homeless to find help via their website.