Poverty and Homelessness
Anyone can become homeless and many homeless people have previously had successful lives. Lack of monetary resources however do leave people more vulnerable to homelessness as they don't necessarily have the capacity to cope if, for example, they lose their job.
In 2009/10 almost 10.4 million people were living in poverty in the UK [1]. Over the last decade, the number of both children and pensioners in poverty has fallen whilst the number of working-age adults in poverty has increased by over 800,000[2].
On becoming homeless, poverty is a very real problem. Poverty and debt issues can prevent people who are homeless from being able to move on with their lives. One of the ways Crisis supports people is through our Changing Lives Awards which offer people grants to help them overcome the financial barriers they face to achieving their vocational goal.
Poverty and benefits
The benefits system can also trap people in poverty. For instance, the way housing benefit (HB) operates can mean that work simply does not pay for Housing Benefit recipients. The current system creates huge barriers for those trying to move into work (unemployment trap) and also for those in low paid work trying to increase their earnings (poverty trap).
Housing Benefit rules also hinder claimants' efforts to gain new skills and qualifications as anyone over the age of 18 cannot claim Housing Benefit if they are studying for more than 16 hours a week. Crisis is also concerned that recent cuts to Housing Benefit will make it harder for people to find and sustain accommodation and are likely to lead to an increase in homelessness.
The Welfare Reform Bill makes sweeping changes to the benefits system, moving towards a single benefit, known as Universal Credit. It aims to simplify welfare and make sure work always pays. Crisis supports these aims and has long campaigned on these issues. However, we have some serious concerns regarding the details of this Bill and particularly how the housing element of the Universal Credit will be calculated.
[1] DWP (2011) Households Below Average Income (HBAI) (accessed 19/07/2011)
[2] The Poverty Site (2009) Low income by age group (accessed 19/07/2011)
