Charity seeks census of ‘hidden homeless’

Homelessness charity Crisis has called on the government to
undertake a census of the UK’s hidden homeless to start to tackle a
problem it estimates is costing the country £1.4bn a
year.

The charity also warned that the number of people living in bed and
breakfast accommodation or hostels, or in temporary arrangements
with family or friends, could rise from an estimated 380,000 to one
million by 2020.

Launching a campaign this week to publicise the problem, the
charity said the huge cost of hidden homelessness came from
temporary accommodation costs and benefit payments, together with
lost income.

It said the government must establish the scale and distribution of
those involved, so that it could start to address the needs of
these people.

– Report from www.crisis.org.uk/hidden