• Crisis prepares to open Christmas services, urging people to volunteer and donate
• Charity has seen 12% increase in people accessing its services across Great Britain – and calls for urgent focus on funding for new social homes

National homelessness charity Crisis says it is preparing for an ‘incredibly difficult’ winter as rising living costs and a chronic shortage of truly affordable housing forces more and more people to seek urgent homelessness support.

Over the past year, more than 10,300 people have accessed Crisis’ services, including at its nine frontline Skylight centres across Great Britain [1]. This 12% increase on the year before, the charity says, is an early warning sign of the pressures likely to be faced by its annual Christmas services, which are set to open in late December. Crisis is readying for high demand.

Crisis staff at its Oxford Skylight have seen a particularly acute rise in people using their services. The Oxford team has seen a 27% year-on-year increase in the number of people accessing support. According to staff, as many as 20 new people a week have been registering with them for homelessness support in the city [2].

Oxford staff say this increase is down to a multitude of factors common with the national picture: a significant lack of social housing; the rising cost of living; and the use of no-fault evictions. Some of Crisis’ other Skylights have also seen particularly significant rises. In Liverpool staff have seen a 39% increase in people accessing support, while Edinburgh has seen a 24% increase [3].

For many people, Crisis’ frontline services are the last line of defence. Across its nine skylight centres, Crisis staff provide year-round support to people facing homelessness. This includes working with people to help them find a settled home, to challenge eviction notices and to access council support. It can also involve offering healthcare support, washing facilities and employment assistance.

Through its year-round services, hotels, day centres and health and wellbeing programmes, Crisis expects to support over 6,000 people this Christmas who are experiencing homelessness across Britain. For many, it will be the first step to a life beyond homelessness. In London, Crisis will again be providing hotel rooms and a dedicated caseworker for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough. One hotel will remain open until the middle of January, providing extra time for people experiencing the most severe forms of homelessness.

Crisis is asking the public to support its life changing work, this winter and all year round, by donating £29.80. This will help support thousands of people to build a life beyond homelessness [4].  

Across Britain more than 250,000 households are now experiencing the worst forms of homelessness. A record number of households (more than 130,000) across Britain are now trapped in expensive and often unsuitable temporary accommodation, including almost 120,000 in England [5]. In Scotland, more than 10,000 children are living in temporary accommodation, the highest number since current records began in 2011-12 [6]. Rough sleeping is again on the rise in England, up 27% from last year.

Crisis is calling for the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments to provide the funding required to deliver the social and affordable homes needed to reduce pressure on the housing system across Britain. Just 9,561 social homes were built last year in England, with 22,023 either sold off or demolished. Crisis is also calling on the Westminster government to put in place an ambitious strategy for ending homelessness in England [7].

Matt Downie, Chief Executive of Crisis, said:

“This winter is going to be an incredibly difficult time for many of us. Our experiences over the past year have shown that more and more people are struggling to find a safe and stable place to live – whether forced into cramped temporary accommodation due to exorbitant rents or faced with no other option but to sleep on the streets. We’re expecting high demand for our services this Christmas.

“Yet my colleagues and I know that this can be a crucial moment where people can start to take their first steps to a life beyond homelessness. With the public’s help, through a vital donation or giving their time, we can continue providing the support, shelter and kindness that Crisis at Christmas has given for over 50 years. With the public’s help, we can be there for thousands of people facing homelessness this Christmas and ensure they can start to rebuild their life away from it, for good.”

-Ends-

Notes to Editor

[1] Between July 2023 and June 2024 Crisis supported 10,320 people with resources and advice to help prevent their homelessness; across the same period a year earlier, Crisis supported 9,226 people with help and advice to prevent their homelessness.

[2] Local government statistics show that, between April 2022 and March 2023, 439 households approached Oxford City Council for homelessness support. A year later, this had risen to 792 households. Recent research shows that the council is currently spending £1.34million on temporary accommodation, fulfilling a legal obligation to prevent them sleeping on the streets.

[3] Total number of people seen by the Crisis teams in Oxford, Merseyside and Edinburgh across Crisis financial years (July to June):

Skylight	2022/23	2023/24	% Change
Oxford	499	635	27%
Merseyside	1313	1820	39%
Edinburgh	692	858	24%

 

[4] £29.80 is our suggested donation amount to help someone experiencing homelessness over the Christmas period – whether that’s in our day centres, hotels or year-round services. This includes longer term support to help leave homelessness behind for good. It is based on the number of people we expect to support and includes set up, food, clothing and accommodation, travel and insurance. We review this figure every year.

[5] Gov.uk, Statutory homelessness in England: Infographic 2023-24, updated 30 October 2024: On 31 March 2024, 117,450 households were in temporary accommodation, up 12.3% from the same period last year.

[6] Annual homelessness statistics in Scotland from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 show that the number of children in temporary accommodation rose to 10,110 in 2024, an increase of 5% compared to last year. This is the highest since records began in 2011-12. They also show that a total of 33,619 households were assessed as homeless, an increase of 3% on last year (2022-23) and the highest since records began in 2011-12.

[7] Crisis: Over 12,000 social homes lost last year, as over one million households remain trapped on council waiting lists, 8 February 2024.

Since taking office in July, the Labour government in Westminster has committed to several measures to tackle homelessness. This includes establishing a cross-government group to coordinate efforts to end all forms of homelessness, led by the Deputy Prime Minister; £233 million of additional spending for local government to prevent homelessness; an extra £500m for the Affordable Homes Programme, to support 5,000 additional social homes across England; and changes to right to buy rules – including restrictions on the sale of new social homes.

In Wales, the Welsh Government published its national plan to end homelessness in 2021 and is looking to introduce a draft bill on ending homelessness this parliamentary term. Crisis believes it is imperative to press ahead with this plan.​​