Most homeless children
are not on the street.
They're in hotel rooms. They're in hostels. They're sharing beds with siblings in B&Bs miles from their old school. Child homelessness is largely invisible — and that's part of the problem.
What is temporary accommodation?
Housing provided by local authorities while a homelessness duty is being fulfilled. It can mean self-contained flats, but often means one hotel room, a shared hostel, or a B&B — sometimes many miles from a family's previous community.
What is child homelessness?
A child does not have access to a safe, secure, suitable permanent home. For Child Homelessness Day this refers primarily to the over 102,000 children living in temporary accommodation in London.
Housing shapes every part of childhood.
Child homelessness is not only a housing issue. It's an issue of childhood, education, health, and opportunity.
Education
Disrupted learning, changing schools mid-year, long daily journeys, nowhere quiet to revise.
Mental wellbeing
Living with uncertainty, anxiety about the next move, loss of privacy and personal space.
Physical health
Overcrowding, disrupted sleep, damp accommodation, reduced access to healthy meals.
Friendships
Being placed miles from familiar streets, losing local clubs and communities.
Family life
A whole family sharing one room, no space to eat, play or do homework together.
Opportunity
Missing out on clubs, trips, and activities because of cost, distance, or instability.
Children carrying more than childhood asks.
Many young people in temporary housing take on responsibilities beyond their years — translating letters, supporting siblings, travelling long distances alone, and providing emotional support to parents through repeated moves.
Common questions.
Isn't homelessness mostly about sleeping rough?
No. The vast majority of homeless children in England — and especially in London, where the crisis is most acute — are living in temporary accommodation secured by local authorities: hotels, hostels, B&Bs and nightly-paid rooms. Not sleeping on the streets.
How long do children live in temporary accommodation?
It varies, but for households with children a common length of stay is between two and five years. In London, some families remain in temporary housing for over a decade.
Why don't we hear about it?
Because most homeless children look exactly like every other child in the classroom. They still go to school. They still smile. Their homelessness is often hidden — but their childhood shouldn't be.
What causes child homelessness?
A range of factors — the loss of a private tenancy, rising rents, family breakdown, domestic abuse, and shortages of social housing. It's a housing crisis, but it's also a childhood crisis.