Nicholas Connolly, CEO of EveryYouth<\/a> \u2013 a network of charities including Roundabout, said reaching young people will be key to that. That includes measures like Upstream<\/a>, which uses surveys to identify kids at risk of homelessness in school in England and Wales before stepping in to prevent it.<\/p>\n \u201cIf this [Westminster] government is going to reduce youth homelessness it must address its root causes. Raising children is hard and the support available is limited,\u201d said Connolly. \u201cOnly by scaling programmes like Upstream \u2013 pioneered by EveryYouth charities \u2013 which proactively identifies children and families that need help, can we reduce hidden homelessness substantially.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n The hidden homelessness on our doorstep<\/p>\n Homelessness is notoriously difficult to count \u2013 but for people not in view on the street or approaching services, they might as well be invisible. How many people are in that position? It\u2019s tough to know.<\/p>\n Back in 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) attempted to research how many people in the UK may be experiencing hidden homelessness. The statistics body concluded that \u201cit is not currently possible to estimate the true scale of hidden homelessness across the UK because of known complexities in reaching this population group\u201d.<\/p>\n Over the years, plenty of people have tried to quantify how many people might be homeless but out of sight. Homelessness charity Crisis<\/a> said in 2011 that an estimated 62% of the people they surveyed in England were experiencing hidden homelessness at the time of the poll while 92% had been in that position in the past.<\/p>\n The London Assembly\u2019s Housing Committee estimated that 13 times more people were experiencing hidden homelessness than visibly sleeping rough back in 2017.<\/p>\n The English Housing Survey keeps track of \u2018concealed households\u2019, meaning people who can\u2019t afford to buy or rent elsewhere. Approximately 1.5 million households in England contained additional concealed households, representing 6% of the country\u2019s total.<\/p>\n These concealed households tended to be younger, male and living with their parents with just over half (54%) aged 16 to 24. While not traditionally thought of as homeless, rising numbers of young people are living with parents for longer.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Scotland\u2019s homelessness statistics keep track of the accommodation where people were last staying before they made a homelessness application to a local authority. While not a cast-iron measure of hidden homelessness, the family home (26% of cases) and a friend\u2019s places (20%) were the most common answers in 2023-24.<\/p>\n The ONS noted that evidence suggested women, young people and ethnic minorities are more likely to experience hidden homelessness. Overcrowding can also be considered a form of homelessness and ethnic minorities are more likely to experience it.<\/p>\n The 2021 Census in England and Wales showed households where all members were Muslim were five times more likely to experience overcrowding in England and six times more likely in Wales. Households where all members identified as black, black British, black Welsh, Caribbean or African had the highest level of overcrowding \u2013 16.1% in England and 11.9% in Wales \u2013 compared with all households.<\/p>\n The hidden nature of homelessness for women even inspired Single Homeless Project and Solace Women\u2019s Aid to set up the women\u2019s rough sleeping census to keep track.<\/p>\n The groups argue that the dangers on the street mean women are more likely to hide away than bed down on the street. Their census takes in night buses, 24-hour fast food restaurants and other places where women might seek shelter instead.<\/p>\n They have found 10 times as many women could be sleeping rough in some form than is counted in England\u2019s official rough sleeping snapshot.<\/p>\n Advertising helps fund Big Issue\u2019s mission to end poverty<\/p>\n Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this?\u00a0Get in touch and tell us more<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reader-funded since 1991 \u2013 Big Issue brings you trustworthy journalism that drives real change.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1687-Hidden_Homelessness_Britans_Homelessness.jpg\")
Illustration: Simbie Yau<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Support-journalism-in-article-CTA.png\")
<\/p>\n