In the 21st century, in one of the richest countries in the world we shouldn’t have people who don't have shelter, one of the most basic necessities of human life.
Homelessness is wrong, we should end it now.
I took this video about eight months ago, this lady is still homeless
https://youtu.be/DnWwzxcTX-U.
Eliminating homelessness sounds impossible, but it’s not.
This Government report (
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7596/2200485.pdf) in 2012 identified that there were 40,000 homeless people, both people living on the street and those living in inadequate temporary accommodation. That's a lot of people, too many, but it is less than one person in 1,000, which makes it perfectly manageable. It cost us £1bn a year to keep those people, £25,000 per person. That’s daft, to spend £25,000 a year, about an average salary, and not even manage to provide decent accommodation, in some cases provide no accommodation.
The reason for homelessness is simple, there aren't enough homes. If there were enough homes nobody would be homeless. It is said that homeless people have other problems, issues with drugs, alcohol, mental health, family breakdown, sometimes just bad luck. That is probably true, but it's not a reason why we should add not having a home to their problems. The solution isn't even expensive, in fact in the long run it would save us money. If we built the homes then that £25,000 a year would pay for them in less than ten years, in the long run it would save us money.
There is an international organisation called Housing First
http://www.homeless.org.uk/our-work/national-projects/housing-first-england which has pioneered the approach of first providing homes and then supporting people's other needs, it works.
This isn't just about homeless people, it affects us all. Increasing numbers of people have no prospect of buying a home because they are too expensive, the alternative is renting but rents are also steadily rising. A housing shortage helps to fuel the increasingly unaffordable cost of housing for all of us. Homelessness is the sharp tip of an iceberg we’re all scraping against.
Please sign this petition to ask the Government to act to end homelessness.
