The Blair government committed itself to ending Child Poverty in the UK by 2020 and some inroads towards this were made. That aspiration has, however, long-since been abandoned. The global Covid pandemic, followed by the cost of living crisis means that ever more families are experiencing levels of poverty that would not have been considered likely in the UK until more recently. Phrases such as “fuel poverty” and “food poverty” are now commonplace in the media.

More information about the impact of poverty of children can be found here:

The Child Poverty Action Group: CPAG | Home

Effects Of Child Poverty | The Children’s Society (childrenssociety.org.uk)

Tackling the impact of child poverty | Children’s Commissioner for England (childrenscommissioner.gov.uk)

People & families become homeless for many different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment; and life events which push people into homelessness.

People may become homeless when they leave prison, the care system, or the army and have no home to go to. Many women experiencing homelessness have escaped a violent or abusive relationships.

Many people become homeless because they can no longer afford the rent.

And for many, life events like a relationship breaking down, losing a job, mental or physical health problems, or substance misuse put people under considerable strain. Being homeless can, in turn, make many of these problems even harder to resolve. However, in many cases, homelessness is preventable and many services exist, seeking to support those who are currently homeless.

More information and support can be found at:

Shelter: the homelessness charity

Home – Leicestershire Housing Services Partnership (leicshousingservicespartnership.co.uk)