Homeless London families marched on government offices and served housing secretary Michael Gove an eviction notice. Around 80 protesters from campaign group Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL) gathered outside the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on Thursday morning (April 11).
They called on Gove, who they accuse of presiding over the biggest homelessness crisis in Britain’s history, to commit to investing in more quality three, four and five bedroom council homes.
Demonstrators held placards demanding homeless families stop being forced out of London, blew whistles and cheered as a piñata representing overcrowded temporary housing was broken.
One of the protesters, Danil Brana, said he had been living in a Travelodge in Lewisham with his wife and two daughters for a month, after Tower Hamlets Council placed him in temporary accommodation.
The dad-of-two, 31, said: “It’s very difficult. I have to take my daughter to school and back in Tower Hamlets by bus. It’s too far away and it’s too expensive. There’s no kitchen and when I have appointments with the council in Tower Hamlets it takes an hour for me to get there.”
Hiwet Solomun, also 31, said she shared a kitchen and toilet with six other people in her hostel for homeless women in Westminster.
She said: “I’ve been there almost two years and five months. It’s very difficult living there. I struggle to cook because there’s always someone using the kitchen. My doctor has recommended I be placed in a higher band for rehousing because of my health issue but I’m still waiting.”
Aster Tewolede and her teenage daughter said they had been living in temporary accommodation organised by Lambeth Council for 13 years.
The 46-year-old said: “The house is not good. It has damp problems and the room where my daughter sleeps is the size of a baby’s room. My daughter had grown up there. It’s been 13 years. Why don’t they give us a house?”
Mum-of-two Lily Assefa said she and her family had been living in temporary accommodation in Sydenham, Lewisham for two years after Southwark Council moved them out of their former home in Elephant and Castle due to repair problems.
She said: “My kids’ schools and my work are near Lambeth North [Underground station] which is far from Sydenham. You dress up when you come out here, but clothes are nothing. You have to have a peaceful place to sleep.”
Analysis by London Tenants Federation of City Hall’s housing data has found that only 2,465 low cost four bedroom and larger houses were delivered between 2012 and 2022, compared to 21,997 one and two bedroom low cost homes.
Elizabeth Wyatt, a HASL member, said: “This devastating housing emergency is ruining the lives of over 140,000 children in England. This is a political choice that has been made by this government for the last 14 years and it is absolutely unforgivable.
“But this can be turned around, it’s really that simple. We can solve the homeless crisis instantly with investment and expansion of high-quality, safe, secure, family-sized council homes that our communities need and deserve.”
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We are building more homes and boosting social housing supply. Our £11.5 billion affordable homes programme will deliver thousands more affordable homes to rent and buy across the country. £4 billion of this has been allocated to the Mayor of London to deliver much needed affordable housing in the capital.
“We are giving councils £1.2 billion over three years to help provide financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation, including £568 million for London.”
Photos: Demonstrators outside the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on April 11, 2024.
Michael Gove’s eviction notice.
Kids broke a piñata representing overcrowded temporary housing during the protest.
Hiwet Solomun has been living in a homeless hostel for women for almost two and a half years.
Mum-of-two Lily Assefa and her family had been living in temporary accommodation in Sydenham, Lewisham for two years.
Danil Brana, 31, his wife and daughters have been living in a Travelodge in Lewisham for a month. Credits: Robert Firth
