Dozens of children are homeless in Doncaster according to latest figures

Latest figures from the charity Shelter have revealed that there are 60 children living homeless in Doncaster at the moment.
St. Leger Homes helps to house the homeless in Doncaster.St. Leger Homes helps to house the homeless in Doncaster.
St. Leger Homes helps to house the homeless in Doncaster.

The figure reflects those either on the streets or living in temporary accommodation in the town.

It makes Doncaster the region in South Yorkshire with the second-highest number of homeless children. Rotherham has the most with 67.

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Barnsley and Sheffield were also included in the study, with 27 and 12 homeless children recorded respectively.

St. Leger Homes in Doncaster is responsible for managing the council’s housing services and works to provide homes for those without one.

Paul Tanney, Chief Executive of St. Leger Homes said: “Doncaster Council, St Leger Homes and other partners take the issue of homelessness very seriously.

“Through our work as part of the Complex Lives Alliance we have put in place a robust approach to tackling the issue, which not only addresses accommodation issues, but also tackles the root cause of problems and provides a range of support to address the complex issues that lead to homelessness.

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“Currently we have 27 households with children in temporary accommodation across Doncaster and we are working to rehouse families and children in the most suitable longer term accommodation as quickly as possible.

“There are no families residing in B&B accommodation, which we only use as a last resort. We encourage anyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless to contact us at the earliest possible time.”

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure for homeless children stood at 810 – the charity’s analysis suggests that around 3,700 young people across the region became homeless during 2018-19, equivalent to 10 every day.

Across Britain, 183 children per day became homeless – enough to fill more than two double-decker buses, and almost 67,000 over the year.

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Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said the “scandalous” figure is a reminder that political promises about tackling homelessness must be turned into real action.

“Day in, day out we see the devastating impact the housing emergency is having on children across the country,” she added.

“They are being uprooted from friends, living in cold, cramped B&Bs and going to bed at night scared by the sound of strangers outside.”

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