Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
The Big Issue Oasis Collector's edition is coming - sign up so you don't miss out!
SIGN UP
Housing

Almost 130,000 children will be homeless this Christmas

Shelter says its the highest number since the financial crisis a decade ago

A new report from Shelter has revealed the truly terrible impact the housing crisis is having on families across the nation.

The housing charity has used the latest figures to estimate that 128,000 children will be homeless or in temporary accommodation in the UK this Christmas – the highest number in a decade.

It’s also 52% higher than only five years ago.

“It’s a national scandal that the number of homeless children in Britain has risen since 2011,” said Polly Neate, Shelter’s chief executive. “No child should have to spend Christmas without a home – let alone 128,000 children.”

“Many of us will spend Christmas Day enjoying all of the festive traditions we cherish, but sadly it’ll be a different story for the children hidden away in cramped B&Bs or hostel rooms.”

No child should have to spend Christmas without a home

Around one in eleven children live in these dreadful circumstances are classed as living in “emergency accommodation” – sharing facilities and even rooms with other families.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

The living conditions of children in emergency accommodation were found to affect their school work, their social life and their mental health.

One quarter of families interviewed by Shelter researchers had no kitchen access at all, and had to prepare meals for their children using only a kettle and a hotel bathroom sink.

The grim findings follow new the release of new research detailing the rise in poverty by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) earlier this week.

The think-tank found almost 400,000 more children and 300,000 more pensioners were living in poverty in the UK last year compared with 2012-13.

“These worrying figures suggest that we are at a turning point in our fight against poverty,” said the JRF’s chief executive Campbell Robb.

“Political choices, wage stagnation and economic uncertainty mean that hundreds of thousands more people are now struggling to make ends meet. This is a very real warning sign that our hard-fought progress is in peril.”

Big Issue vendors are back!

It’s not just the shops that are opening again. From Monday 12th April onwards,  Big Issue vendors are back in business, with a big smile and a stack of magazines. Buy from your local vendor today!

Find out more
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
Renter fury as no-fault eviction ban likely delayed until 2026: 'Let down yet again'
renters protest in London with protesters holding placards
Renting

Renter fury as no-fault eviction ban likely delayed until 2026: 'Let down yet again'

Public transport not keeping up with surge in new homes, analysis finds: 'We must plan more intelligently'
a bus
Public transport

Public transport not keeping up with surge in new homes, analysis finds: 'We must plan more intelligently'

Government pledge to help care leavers into social housing 'will literally save lives'
care leavers hand in petition at Downing Street
Social housing

Government pledge to help care leavers into social housing 'will literally save lives'

Social services threatened to take refugee's newborn baby away in row over horror hostel
A stock image of a baby's foot
Asylum accommodation

Social services threatened to take refugee's newborn baby away in row over horror hostel

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.