Drug use, violence and homelessness are just some of the things that almost 1,000 North West children face every day many of whom will wake up on Christmas to a cramped emergency hostel.
Shelter, a homeless charity based in cities across the UK including Manchester, is launching their emergency appeal after revealing 80,000 children are facing homelessness in the UK with 922 in the North West – a ten-year high.
Last year, Shelter revealed that more than 500 children in Manchester will wake up homeless on Christmas Day and they are determined to see a decrease this year.
After an investigation conducted by the charity on 25 families, they revealed the desperate conditions of many who facing homelessness including open drug use and violence, with one child admitting they were threatened.
Many of these families live in cramped B&B’s or hostels and the majority of the families said they felt unsafe in their emergency accommodation.
Joann, a GP receptionist from Hillingdon, knows exactly how it feels to lose her home after she could not find an affordable house after her landlord wanted to sell the property.
With her seven-year-old-son she was forced to move into a B&B in Hounslow and are facing the prospect of being homeless this Christmas.
Joann said: “It’s so hard to give him a balanced diet as it’s impossible to make proper meals here, let alone a Christmas dinner.
“He’s getting really pale and is so tired all the time. He gets so scared but it’s difficult when I’m scared myself. This is no place for a child to live. We’re desperately hoping we won’t be here for Christmas.”
Joann’s son, said: “Sometimes it’s scary. There’s no room to play here and I miss having my friends over.”
Erika and her 4 year old daughter, Evelina, from Chichester live in a similar situation and after being homeless last Christmas they were housed in a B&B in Worthing.
They were forced to share a bed in a cramped room with no access to kitchen facilities. They had a shower but had to share a toilet with 30 other people.
With the help of Shelter Erika is now in a much more permanent home and said: “We had one room and nowhere else to go – it was horrible. The most difficult thing was that the house was so noisy with people always coming and going all hours of the day. It was really difficult for Evelina to get to sleep and she was always exhausted.
“She was too scared to go to the toilet on her own.”
Other findings revealed by Shelter include two thirds of the families admitting they had no table for their children to eat on, 12 of the families having to share the kitchen and one family having to share a cooker and fridge with 22 other people.
Worryingly, all of the children found it difficult to do their homework and more than half of the families having to share a bathroom or toilet with strangers.
Yet most shockingly was that a young girl was told by a stranger that he would ‘smash her face in’ after an argument about a shared bathroom.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Our shocking findings have uncovered the shameful conditions homeless children will be living in this Christmas.
“Parents and children sharing beds, children forced to eat on the floor and being threatened with violence in the place they live: this shouldn’t be happening in twenty-first century Britain.
“No child should be homeless, let alone 80,000. But tragically, with more people struggling to make ends meet and homelessness on the rise, we’re bracing ourselves for an increase in demand from families who desperately need our help.
“Our advisers will be working with families facing homelessness every day this Christmas to help them find a safe place to live and get back on their feet – but we urgently need more support this year to be there for these children.”
To support Shelter’s emergency Christmas appeal visit shelter.org.uk or text HOME to 87080 and donate £3 to answer a call for help.
Image courtesy of Khomkrit via Flickr, with thanks.
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