Homelessness is more than its statistics.
The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields
The Connection at St Martin's works with homeless people in London to discover their strengths and rebuild their lives.
Rough sleeping in London has increased by 9% in the last year. Over 3,200 people slept rough in London from April to June 2023, with 49% of these people were sleeping rough for the first time.
Homelessness statistics like this are dominating the news at the moment. While they very effectively show how rapidly homelessness is increasing, they fail to consider what makes these numbers worth our attention: people.
Behind these numbers are real people we see every day. They have hopes, fears and dreams like everyone else. Their experiences can’t be reduced to charts or graphs.
Are homelessness statistics useful?
We’re not saying this data isn’t important. In fact, it’s essential to our work and helps us understand what’s going on across our local area. Without this data, we wouldn’t be able to see where our support is most needed and how to effectively help in the current rough sleeping environment.
It’s also helpful to have a clear way of expressing the scale of the issues we’re up against to help raise awareness.
To read the full article, visit our website here: https://www.connection-at-stmartins.org.uk/news-item/homelessness-is-more-than-its-statistics/