Tag Archives: temporary accommodation

Taking part in Lib Dem Conference online (I cannot make it to Brighton, so watching and voting online) it was good to see the first policy motion was about homeless children, although tragic that we have to discuss the subject at all

You can see below more about it, but it covered the awful issues there are for children, as well of course as their parents and other adults.  Shocking to hear that There are over 176,000 children living in temporary accommodation across England, and that Since 2019, 104 children have died with temporary accommodation listed as a contributing factor to their death, 76 of whom were under the age of one, with deaths attributed to causes including lack of access to cots and Moses baskets, overcrowding, poverty and the chaos of homelessness.

Excellent and moving speeches, amendments adding important issues. The motion as amended is here.

The next step of course is for those in power to take note, and actually do something about it.

It brought back memories of the mid 1990’s when there were homeless families here in Stockton on Tees in Council accommodation.  My involvement started when I found out that play schemes for the holidays would not include these children.  I was horrified and with a lot of support, and a quickly made grant from the Church Urban Fund a play scheme was started for the summer.

As you can imagine it didn’t end there, with parents asking, what now? A project started with a lot of “challenges”.  The Labour Councillors in charge would not support it any way, and were upset when we got more funding, even though we weren’t a registered charity.  But with the backing of some good council officers (we held meetings at lunchtime so they could attend in their own time), one good labour councillor friend, other friends and churches, we went ahead.  Not just play schemes in school holidays, but activities for parents and under 5’s, and a creche so parents could attend courses.  At the playscheme we had lunch, all sat at tables with knives and forks.  For years afterwards I would meet a mum who said thanks for the opportunity given to her to do some training that had led to her career.  But the downside was that after a few years the revolving door started.  We were seeing the same families that had been housed, back again.  For all sorts of reasons, domestic violence,  family breakdown,  inability to budget as crises hit.