469 working people in Peterborough faced homelessness or were at risk of becoming homeless in the last year
Tens of thousands of working people in the UK are expected to be homeless this winter
New figures reveal that in the last year 469 people in Peterborough who were in work were either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
In the UK, tens of thousands of people are expected to be homeless this Christmas despite having a job.
Some people are sleeping in cardboard boxes, tents, and cars, according to new research by The Salvation Army.
Although wages are rising, rent is rising much more
The Salvation Army estimates that from April 2023 to March 2024 there were at least 180 people in Peterborough in full or part time work who were homeless.
Over half of these people being in full time work.
It's almost like leading a double life
Andrew Connell, Policy Manager at the Salvation Army, said:
"It must be terribly difficult for someone going through that."
"It's almost like leading a double life."
"We know that good jobs are a really good basis for building up your life. But it has to be paying you enough to maintain a decent and stable home, and that is just not happening."
"We are still stuck in this position where although wages are rising, rent is rising much more."
"We have to find a way of making sure people can still afford to rent otherwise things will become much worst."
56,242 workers in the UK were registered as homeless
Nationally, the charity estimates that in this time 56,242 workers in the UK were registered as homeless, with 32,138 of them in full-time employment and 24,104 working part-time.
As well as this, people working full-time or part-time make up nearly a quarter of everyone registered as homeless during this period.
They are now calling for the Government to help people on low wages afford somewhere to live by raising housing benefits so they are in line with inflation.
Rent has increased by 8.4% on average in the UK in the last year.
The Salvation Army has calculated that the Government’s decision to freeze the amount of local housing allowance people on low incomes receive towards the cost of rent, will leave those households with a shortfall of £100 per month.