Britain is no country for the more and more old men who are homeless this Christmas

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Britain in 2017 and a sobering statistic : the number of old people becoming homeless in England has doubled in the last seven years. It means that people, over the age of 60, are now twice as likely to register with local councils as 'homeless' than they were seven years ago, with the figure having risen from 1,210 in 2009 to 2,420 last year. Given the fact that older men are more likely to figure in this statistic than older women, the figure of 1,500 seems about right for old men.

The data shows that among the homeless elderly population in 2016, more than half - 61%,. were over the age of 65 and 21% were over the age of 75. Once again, while overall homelessness has increased to 59,260, Government data shows the figure for old people has surged by more than double as much.

The future is grim : The Local Government Association, which represents more than 370 councils in England and Wales, has warned that, based on existing trends, the number of homeless old people is set to double by 2025.

In light of the figures, Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said : “The fact that the number of older people who are homeless has risen by so much is very worrying. To avoid these figures going even further in the wrong direction, we need a proper safety net for when people are unfortunate enough to fall on hard times."

Polly Neate, Chief Executive of 'Shelter,' said the Charity had seen a rise in the number of homeless old people using their services and urged that in order for the “nightmare” to end, Government ministers must freeze housing benefit and commit to building more affordable homes. She said : “It’s astonishing that our housing crisis has got so bad that a record number of elderly people are turning up at their councils needing help finding somewhere to live. Sadly, we’re seeing this in our own services too, with older people regularly needing our advice and support when they become homeless.” 

Britain in 2017 : a country where there is too high a number of homeless old men and women. 

Britain in 1917 : a country where there was too high a number of homeless old men and women.

The endless cycle of repetition