The number of people recorded as homeless in Preston and the surrounding areas has reached 192, according to new figures from homelessness charity Shelter.
South Ribble is the worst affected nearby area, where one in every 1,514 people is homeless. In comparison, two people are homeless in Wyre, which equates to one in every 48,261.
Shelter’s analysis of official rough-sleeping and temporary accommodation figures shows the number of homeless people in the north west as a whole has increased by 117% to 9,038 since 2016.
The breakdown for Preston and surrounding areas is as follows:
South Ribble – 1 in every 1,514 people is homeless (73 in total)
Fylde – 1 in every 1,994 people is homeless (40 in total)
Preston – 1 in every 1,997 people is homeless (71 in total)
Ribble Valley – 1 in every 10,010 people is homeless (6 in total)
Wyre – 1 in every 48,261 people is homeless (2 in total)
A spokesperson for Shelter said: “Despite this report being the most comprehensive overview of homelessness in the country, it’s widely known that a lot of homelessness goes undocumented, including sofa surfing and some rough sleeping. This means the true level of homelessness will be even higher than this count.
“Shelter is warning that unless the new government takes urgent action to address the dire lack of social homes at the crux of this emergency, the situation is likely to get worse.”
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Speaking earlier this year about homelessness in Preston, Chief Executive of The Foxton Centre Jeff Marsh said: “Rough sleeping has gone up year on year. It’s really distressing – whatever town or city you come from you can see more people on the streets. It’s heartbreaking and scandalous at the same time.”
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The charity’s report – This is England: a picture of homelessness in 2019 – identifies the areas where homelessness is most acute in the north west. Manchester topped the list with 1 in 102 people now homeless.
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