A CHARITY has launched an urgent appeal after revealing homelessness in Scotland has reached a staggering 28,297 households.
Shelter has carried out the most extensive review of its kind looking at official rough sleeping, temporary accommodation and social services figures.
This showed the number of homeless people in Britain has increased by 13,000 in a year, to 307,000 – but as government records are not definitive the true figure could be even higher.
In Scotland last year there were 28,297 households assessed as homeless and at any one time there were 10,873 households in temporary accommodation. It is estimated that 5000 people sleep rough on Scotland’s streets throughout the year.
Alison Watson, deputy director of Shelter Scotland, said: “It’s shocking to think that today, more than 300,000 people in Britain are waking up homeless. Some will have spent the night sleeping rough on our streets or in unsuitable temporary accommodations while others were crammed into dingy hostels or bed and breakfasts – some with their children. Shockingly, many are simply unaccounted for.
“On a daily basis, we speak to hundreds of people and families who are desperately trying to escape the devastating trap of homelessness – a trap that is tightening thanks to decades of failure to build enough affordable homes and the impact of harsh welfare cuts which are now, for many, being compounded by the roll-out of Universal Credit.
“As this crisis continues to unfold, the work of our frontline services remains absolutely critical. We will do all we can to make sure no-one is left to fight homelessness on their own. But we cannot achieve this alone; we urgently need the public’s support to be there for everyone who needs us this winter.”
40-year-old Stacey Timony, from Edinburgh, has been in temporary accommodation with four children for 18 months.
They became homeless when she was asked to leave a private let and found herself priced out of the market, despite help from the children’s father with whom she has a supportive relationship.
A two-month battle with City of Edinburgh Council to get into temporary housing saw them moved from B&B to B&B and sleeping on floors with friends or family when the council could not accommodate them.
Stacey believes the council deliberately tried to put her off accessing her rights to temporary housing. She said: “I never thought I’d be in this position. I used to have a mortgage when my eldest children were small but the market has changed and housing is just so unaffordable.
“The council had eight weeks’ notice that I was losing my home but did nothing to prevent us having to go through the homelessness system. Looking back, I can see that the council just tried to scaremonger me into not going through the process of applying for homelessness assistance.
“The council literally made every bit of the process unbearable. There was no understanding, no information, no support and no guidance. It was one of the scariest times of my life.
“I was caring for my mother who was sick when I needed help but the council made no consideration for that, expecting me to be in their office first thing in the morning when I needed to help her with medication, and get four children to school and nursery.”
It’s been a year and a half since we went into temporary housing and I still can’t give my children any answers or reassurance to when we will be housed or when their toys and belongings will be returned.”
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