According to the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain), the count of individuals sleeping rough in London at the close of 2024 saw a 5% increase from the previous year.
Between October and December 2024, outreach teams identified 4,612 individuals sleeping on the streets of the capital, with approximately half classified as having mental health issues.
Among these, 704 were determined to be living entirely on the streets, representing a 26% rise compared to the same period last year; however, the number of individuals experiencing rough sleeping for the first time decreased by 7%.
Emma Haddad, chief executive of St Mungo’s, a charity focused on homelessness, expressed her concern, stating, “The ongoing rise in rough sleeping figures in London is deeply troubling.”
Previously, homelessness organizations have described these statistics as “shameful.”
In October, local authorities reported expenditures of £4 million per day related to homelessness, which includes costs for temporary housing.
Ms. Haddad emphasized, “Each statistic reflects a real person who has endured a night on the streets during the winter.”
She stressed the necessity of reforming the current system to ensure individuals receive the support needed to prevent them from experiencing homelessness initially.
According to her, implementing a prevention-focused approach to homelessness would mean “ensuring no one is released from prison, hospital, or care into homelessness, no individual faces eviction due to excessive rent hikes, and no one struggles to find housing because of frozen benefits.”
