Calls for homelessness emergency response as 10,000 Scots kids face life without proper homes

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The number of children stuck in temporary housing has soared to almost 10,000 – prompting demands for a homeless emergency to be declared.Shelter director Alison Watson claims Scotland’s housing crisis is the worst it has been in 20 years – with thousands of kids facing the “limbo” of B&Bs and homeless shelters.She said: “We’ve now got 9585 kids waking up this morning homeless and in temporary accommodation with nowhere to call home.” Alison is demanding that First Minister Humza Yousaf orders an emergency response to put more families in permanent homes.

Shelter claims that every day children spend in temporary accommodation causes them trauma – with many being bullied at school because of their living conditions.Alison is now demanding that the Scottish Government fund the purchase of private sector properties to provide homes for affordable rent to alleviate the crisis.She said: “The current situation breaks my heart.

I’ve worked for Shelter Scotland for just over 20 years, and I’ve never seen it as bad as this.“I’ve never had such a palpable feeling of so many families suffering genuine harm – genuine distress.“Scotland keeps breaking records that we should never want to see broken again.“And we’ve now reached a stage where every 60 minutes another household becomes homeless.“So we’ve seen a 130 per cent increase in the number of children who are homeless or in temporary accommodation since 2014.”Shelter claims that falling property prices mean Scotland should commence a national acquisition programme by buying up homes.

Alison Watson said a £3.5 billion pot for accelerating affordable home building is being locked up because developers and housing associations are not building fast enough.