Thousands of children homeless at Christmas

Thousands of children living in Kent, Surrey and Sussex are set to be homeless this Christmas, according to a new report by Shelter.

Homelessness in England 2024, published on Wednesday, estimates that 9,405 children currently live with their parents or guardians in temporary accommodation across the South East.

Brighton & Hove recorded 1,411 homeless children, followed by 918 in Medway Towns in Kent and 665 in Hastings, East Sussex.

Even in Surrey, which boasts some of the most affluent areas outside London, there were 1,342 children recorded as not having a home.

The charity says its data is "likely to be an underestimate of the true scale of homelessness", as it does not include unofficial forms of homelessness, such as sofa-surfing.

A "chronic shortage" of homes for social rent means families "have little hope of moving into a safe and secure home anytime soon", instead spending months crammed into B&B rooms, often sharing kitchens and bathrooms with strangers, Shelter says.

For the first four years of Tia's life, she and her mother, Natalie, were homeless.

"Often we only had one bed, so I spent most of my childhood sharing a bed with mum," said Tia, who is now studying at college.

"In fact, in one place, the room was so small we had to eat, sleep, and play on the bed.

"I know my mum did everything she could to protect me. She tried her best to distract me from the terrifying world we were living in," she said.

"Now, I feel lucky to have my own bedroom, but I did find it really hard to get used to. I'd only ever shared a bed with mum, so it took a long time to feel safe in my own bedroom.

"We used to have a little celebration whenever I managed to spend the whole night in my own bed," Tia said.

"When we were living in temporary accommodation, it was like a safety net full of massive holes that could break at any second.

"Growing up homeless has definitely impacted me. I know that all mum wanted for me was a normal childhood."

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, says that as the country prepares for the festive season many are "forced to shiver on the wet streets or in a mouldy hostel room with their entire family".

"Across the South East, extortionate private rents combined with a dire lack of genuinely affordable social homes is trapping more and more people in homelessness," she said.

"Parents are spending sleepless nights worrying about their children growing up in cramped and often damaging temporary accommodation, as weeks and months turn into years without somewhere secure for them to call home."

Ms Neate called on the government to build more social housing "to end the housing emergency for good".

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