Homelessness in England has become a health emergency. 778 homeless people in England and Wales have died in the last year along. This shows the current failure of the UK government under PM Boris. Anika Khan reports.
- Labour party representatives have spoken about how the recorded number of homeless people in the UK is a “shameful sign of government failure.”
- The number has been the highest since its records began in 2013. 37.1 percent of the fatalities have been related to drug poisoning.
- There has also been a spike in the number of suicides from the previous year, due to the increase in unemployment and the pandemic devastating the country’s economy.
- Homelessness Charities like Crisis, CentrePoint, and St Mungo’s urged the government to step in and investigate each individual death.
- The chief executive of Crisis, Jon Sparkes expressed how it is heart-breaking to see the “systematic failure of successive governments.”
- He urged the government to fulfill the previous commitments and expand the safeguarding system for these vulnerable people.
- Since the Tories have come to power, rough sleeping has double. This is largely due to new regulations that lead to welfare cuts.
- Shadow housing secretary, Thanghan Debbonaire warns that the “winter will be even more dangerous” for these people.
- Social distancing regulations this year will limit the number of available beds in homeless providing shelters.
- Labour party is concerned that this can lead to more struggles and deaths and thus urges the government to ensure shelter for all those in need.
The government needs to improve access to health services, build new homeless shelters, and establish a strong welfare system to end rough sleeping and homelessness in England.
