We are asking the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan MS, to tackle the persistently high number of people being forced to live in temporary accommodation.
In recent years, the number of people living in temporary accommodation has risen from six thousand to more than eleven thousand. Wales is in the midst of a housing emergency, and for many people their future and their opportunities are limited because they don't have access to a safe and stable place to call home. Living somewhere temporary often means living in cramped, miserable conditions that are unsuitable for people's needs.
It is our shared responsibility to make sure that we dramatically reduce the amount of people being forced to live in temporary accommodation and that is why Shelter Cymru and the Bevan Foundation are working together to call on the First Minister of Wales to act now.
Click here to read our open letter.
Dear Eluned Morgan MS,
As you know Wales is currently in the midst of a housing emergency and right now, for many people in Wales, their future and their opportunities are limited because they don’t have access to a safe and stable place to call home.
The growing reliance on temporary accommodation is one example of this, and latest statistics show that more than 11,000 people - including almost 3,000 children - are trapped in such places, equivalent to 1 in every 215 households in Wales and 6 in every 1,000 children. And these numbers that has almost doubled during this Senedd term and that means thousands of people and families living in often unsuitable accommodations such as B&Bs.
During just the first three months of 2024 Shelter Cymru's online advice pages for temporary accommodation recieved more than 13,000 views. Alongside this Caseworkers are seeing day in and day out the challenges people face in securing a permanent home, with thousands of households each year turning to us for support.
Shelter Cymru and the Bevan Foundation’s ‘Nowhere to Call Home’ report also highlighted the stark reality off this crisis for people and families. Including the impact on access to education and employment, and the impact for physical and mental health.
The scale of this crisis is also seen in the fact that local authorities are increasingly stretched in their efforts to find and maintain temporary accommodation. Meaning many families facing yet more instability.
We know you’ll agree that this situation cannot continue, and Wales needs a commitment to bring down the numbers of people in temporary accommodation and to increase the availability of permanent homes.
As residents of Wales, we are calling on you to make a commitment to drive down the numbers of people in temporary accommodation by the end of this Senedd term and to ensure more people are protected from homelessness in the first place, or moved into a safe, secure and affordable long-term home.
Ending the housing emergency needs a cross-government approach.
As First Minister you can deliver this, and that is why we are calling on you to make this commitment to drive down the numbers of people in temporary accommodation.
People have the right to a safe home. That's why the fight for home is a fight to prevent homelessness, to help people find and keep a home, and to help them take control of their own lives. Through your leadership, we can utilise all the resources that we have in Wales to tackle homelessness and to end the housing emergency that is having a devastating impact on people and society.
Sign our open letter today and send a clear message to the First Minister to prioritise tackling the housing emergency during this Senedd term.