A tent set up by a homeless person near Trafalgar Square, London (Getty Images)
A UK-based charity group raises the alarm about the number of homeless people in Britain, saying some ten thousands sleep rough in the country.
Crisis puts the number of “hidden” rough sleepers at 9,100 besides 9,000 more who are sleeping on the streets and 120,000 who will have to stay in temporary accommodation during the festive season.
The agency also said that the number of hidden homeless is expected to further increase by 47 percent to reach 13,400 during the next decade if no action is taken. The figure has already risen by 57 percent since 2011, when it stood at 5,800.
Commenting on the finding, which is based on research by academics at Heriot Watt University, chief executive Jon Sparkes said the homeless are at risk of being "hidden from help and trapped in horrifying situations."
Some of the people forced to sleep on public transport or in tents told Crisis they were worried about their safety due to a rise in violence.
“I sleep in the buses, mainly because I can’t see sleeping in the street as… safe. It’s not safe because I have been harassed, I have been kicked. It’s really not a life. It’s like dying every day,” said a homeless man named Benji.
Another person, Paul, said he had been woken up in his tent and thrown over a subway “at Christmas time.”
“You get more trouble at Christmas, I believe, than any other time. It’s supposed to be a happy time.”
Sparkes said that “the evidence we are publishing today shows how it is possible to end rough sleeping for good.”
“For those living in tents and on public transport this battle can last even longer, because they often end up forgotten, hidden from help and trapped in horrifying situations.”
The price for renting a home in England has risen three times faster than wages since 2010, according to a public spending watchdog.
Britain has been pushing painful austerity measures since 2010 to cap its budget deficit, targeting key benefits helping the homeless.
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