Despite a recent fall, the number of people rough sleeping in the UK has more than doubled in the past decade.
That figure doesn’t take into account people who are sofa-surfing or living in homelessness shelters, hotels, bed and breakfasts or other emergency accommodation.
With the shadow of the 2008 banking crisis still looming large, the rise of the gig economy, soaring inner city rents (particularly in London), as well as cuts to local services since 2010, it’s not hard to see how the numbers of homeless people have spiraled. Last year, the housing charity Shelter found that almost half of working private renters in England are only one pay check away from homelessness.
Dr Josephine Ensign has worked as nurse in the US for some 35 years – but she knows better than most how easy it is to become homeless and the effect that homelessness can have on a person. To get the full story, watch her presentation to the Pathways from Homelessness Symposium 2019.
