MORE than 56,000 people will be homeless at Christmas despite being in work, new research from the Salvation Army suggests.
It calculates that 32,138 people are registered as homeless, even though they are in full-time work, and a further 24,104 are working part-time, and yet are still without a home.
Analysing government figures of those registered as homeless, but with a job, in England, then assuming the same proportion in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland — since those nations do not collect this data — the charity estimates that 56,242 workers in the UK are registered as homeless and working across the four UK nations.
Full-time or part-time workers make up nearly one quarter of the registered homeless, the charity says. Someone with a job becomes homeless every ten minutes, it estimates.
The Salvation Army’s director of homelessness services, Nick Redmore, said: “Our findings shatter the assumption that all anyone who is homeless needs to do is just get a job. Sky-high rents and mortgage rates combined with the rising cost of living, plus long waiting lists for council housing, mean a salary doesn’t guarantee a home.
“Most people earning the minimum wage are employed in sectors that are a vital part of the Christmas workforce that helps everyone enjoy the festive season, such as retail and leisure, food production and distribution, hospitality, and catering. It’s scandalous that hard-working people in the UK can’t even afford a place to live.”
Some were resorting to sleeping in boxes, cars, and tents, while trying to hold down jobs, he said.
The Salvation Army is calling on the Government to increase housing benefits in line with inflation. Rents increased by 8.4 per cent on average in the UK, and 9.8 per cent in London, in 2023; but the amount of housing allowance was frozen in the October budget. The Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall, said that local housing allowance — local rates that determine how much housing benefit people are entitled to — is to be frozen at current levels until 2026.
The Salvation Army described the freeze as a “huge financial blow” to people already struggling, and said that rising rents would leave many clients with a monthly shortfall of £100.
The Conservative Government froze the rate for seven out of the past 12 years.
One Salvation Army client, Michael, has spent the past five months living in a tent, while working in a bar. He has been using Salvation Army facilities to shower and wash his clothes.
“There is a big misconception of people thinking those who are sleeping rough are unemployed; this simply isn’t always the case,” he said. “I was working, earning a living, but I just couldn’t save the money to get a place to stay. Living in a tent, you feel worthless. I kept myself hidden in the deepest parts of the park. Each morning, I would get up for work and go to do my shift, leaving everything in my tent. I’ve worked all my life, and I was still working, but didn’t have anywhere to go. It was tough to accept, and I had pride.
“Working with the public, it was important to dress the part and be well presented. I couldn’t let anyone know where I was living. I would go to the Salvation Army to wash, and they gave me toiletries to use and towels and a hot breakfast; so I was ready for my working day, and no one would have guessed where I had slept.”
In the Budget, the Government pledged £230 million to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the next year.