More than 100 people in Ashfield without a home this Christmas according to Shelter
More than 100 people in Ashfield will spend Christmas without a home, new estimates suggest.
Using data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), homelessness charity Shelter's analysis reveals some 108 people were homeless in Ashfield as of June, which corresponds to one in 1,200 people in the area.
Of them, around 103 were living in temporary accommodation, while the charity estimates five were sleeping on the streets based on autumn 2024 data.
The charity said a shortage of social homes, unaffordable private rents and the housing benefit freeze are pushing more people into homelessness.
Shelter estimates 382,618 people in England, including 175,025 children, will spend this Christmas homeless.
It comes as the Government announced a new strategy to halve rough sleeping and prevent more households from becoming homeless, including a £3.5bn investment over the next three years.
Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, said: "While the focus on preventing homelessness in its strategy is positive, we still badly need a plan to get the people who are currently stuck in temporary accommodation, or on the streets, into a safe home."
Ms Elliott welcomed the Government's £39bn investment in social and affordable homes announced earlier this year, but warned: “Until a lot more of these social homes are built, one of the only ways to escape homelessness is if you can afford to pay a private rent.
"We know from our frontline services this is almost impossible to do when housing benefit remains frozen, and that is where the homelessness strategy falls short.
"Many of the families calling Shelter are stuck in inherently damaging temporary accommodation for years – this should not be the tolerated norm.
"For the Government's strategy to work, its goal must be to wipe out homelessness in its entirety.
"This requires unfreezing housing benefit to help people right now, as well as delivering 90,000 new social-rent homes a year for 10 years."
Steve Reed MP (Lab), Housing Secretary, said: "Homelessness is one of the most profound challenges we face as a society.
"Families deserve stability, children need a safe place to grow, and individuals simply want the dignity of a home.
"Through our new strategy we can build a future where homelessness is rare, brief, and not repeated."