Sep 13th, 2017
Homelessness Crisis
By Moon Saker
Today the government’s been accused of fuelling a huge rise in homelessness. It’s splashed all over the news.
A report from the government’s own spending watchdog says it’s because they’re refusing to increase the support they give when people are struggling to pay their rent. Some families were already having to go for days without dinner just to scrape by. But now, with rent rising, they’re being made homeless.
Right now, the Chancellor Philip Hammond is preparing his big budget speech. He could choose to sort this problem out by raising housing benefit to meet the cost of rent. But he’ll only act if he knows hundreds and thousand of us expect him to. If we pile on the pressure with a huge petition now it could push him to decide to end the shocking rise in homelessness.
If you believe everyone deserves a roof over their head, will you sign the petition right now? It takes less than 30 seconds:
In some parts of the country, massive hikes in rent mean people are having to find an extra £50 a week to keep a roof over their head. But the government’s refusing to match the increased costs by raising housing benefit. The watchdog report said they couldn’t understand why the government “persisted with this approach in the face of such a visibly growing problem.”
Today’s report has made it clear that the government’s to blame for rising homelessness and that they can’t go on like this any longer. It’s raised the alarm, but it’s going to need a huge show of public outrage to convince Philip Hammond to do more to stop ordinary people being driven to homelessness.
