More than 200,000 people on the brink of homelessness
became desperate enough to seek help from local services in the last year
alone. That number, based on government statistics from 2014-15, represents a
surge of nearly 50 per cent in calls to councils in the last five years.
Although the 205,100 cries for help to councils in England led to action that
prevented homelessness, in the same year 54,000 households lost the struggle to
keep a roof over their heads. Advisers at Shelter said the surge came as no
surprise, as it received 450,000 calls to its helpline last year. One in four
of the calls came from people who faced losing their home within a month. Read
more on the Morning Star website.
