Homeless Prevention and Housing Options

Homelessness is to be avoided

Homelessness is bad for the health, particularly for children. In 2004, the housing charity Shelter published a study called Sick and Tired which looked at the effects of homelessness. Here is what they found:

• 58% of households said that their health had suffered because of living in temporary accommodation.
  
  
• Almost all of the households felt that their children's health had suffered through living in temporary accommodation.
  
  
• 63% of people suffering from depression said this had become worse since they had moved into temporary accommodation.

Other studies show that homelessness is bad for your child's education. Kids in temporary accommodation move around a lot. This means they have to keep changing schools, leaving their friends, teachers and courses. It can be hard to find a school place in the new area, and can take them time to settle down once they are in the new school. Absenteeism and truancy are higher for children from homeless families.

Facts about Temporary Accommodation

• There are around 3,000 Westminster households living in temporary accommodation.
  
  
• Many of these live in East London, because there are not enough temporary homes in Westminster itself.
  
  
• The average wait for a permanent home for someone accepted on to the list today is likely to be around four and a half years. This will be much longer for families requiring three-bedrooms or more.
  
  
• Temporary accommodation is very expensive. A self-contained temporary flat in East London costs around £431 per week.

Being homeless and living in temporary accommodation is to be avoided. If you think you might become homeless, please tell us quickly, so we can try to stop this happening.

Download our leaflet Applying for Housing as a Homeless Person (PDF)