Charity Christmas appeal to help homeless families
@HannahGraham21 ALMOST 150 children in the North East will wake up homeless this Christmas.
That’s the stark warning from homelessness charity Shelter, which says 143 children in the region currently don’t have a permanent home.
Most of the children in question aren’t sleeping on the streets - Shelter says they may be living in emergency B&Bs and hostels or other unstable accommodation.
Each family lives in just one room and the temporary nature of the accommodation means they can’t be certain how long they’ll be able to stay.
The charity interviewed homeless families, who offered harrowing insights into their experiences.
One mum, known as Natalie, said she and her children have been in a hostel for almost a year-and-a-half.
The 31-year-old said: “There was no heating here, so me and the kids were constantly getting ill. It was ridiculous.
“Watching your kids emotionally go through it can make you feel quite inadequate as a mother, a parent. You feel guilty. Just watching your kids, sort of, suffer. You know, they suffer socially, they suffer at school, they suffer at an emotional level.”
Another mum, known as Geraldine, 45, lives in an emergency B&B with 13-year-old daughter Hannah.
Geraldine told Shelter: “My daughter has felt very suicidal. I took her to the GP. They’ve referred her to the psychologist. She’s constantly breaking down crying. I had to take her to A&E on two occasions because she’s having problems, she keeps getting palpitations. She shakes.”
A quarter of the families questioned had no access to kitchens, making it impossible to cook fresh healthy meals for children.
Half of families had to share toilet and bathroom facilities with other households, often with unsanitary conditions and doors which can’t be locked, while more than a third of parents told researchers they had to share a bed with their children.
Across the UK, Shelter says 127,614 children are without a home.
In the North East, the highest child homelessness rate is in Gateshead, where a total of 34 children are living in temporary accommodation. Tracy Guy, manager of Shelter’s Newcastle hub, said: “It’s a national scandal that the number of homeless children in Britain has risen every year for the last decade. No child should have to spend Christmas without a home – let alone almost 150 children in the North East. “Many of us will spend Christmas day enjoying the festive traditions we cherish in the safe comfort of our homes, but sadly it will be a different story for the homeless children in the region. “While these children aren’t necessarily living in B&Bs and hostels, they are sadly living in unstable temporary accommodation. Our advisers see firsthand the unbearable anguish of these parents who are unable to tell their children when they’ll have somewhere to call home again. “That’s why our frontline advisers will continue to work tirelessly to help more families fighting homelessness. “But we can’t do this alone. We’re asking people to help a homeless family and make giving to Shelter their new Christmas tradition.” Tracy Guy of Shelter