More than 1,000 people are living on the precipice of becoming homeless in Brighton and Hove.
Hundreds of families are on the brink of sleeping rough, living in temporary accommodation, in hostels, B&Bs and sofa surfing on friends’ couches, ten times the number of officially homeless people in the city.
Hayley Jarvis and her children are just one of the families that face joining the ranks of hidden homeless in the city when they are forced to move out of their Moulsecoomb home in a few weeks’ time.
The 26-year-old has lived in private accommodation for the past three years but will be evicted on March 9 because her landlord is selling the property.
Priced out
She is priced out of the private sector because her housing allowance has been reduced to £800 a month and she does not have the £1,500 needed for a deposit.
Her application for council housing was submitted in October but has still to be processed and if she is successful she will join more than 11,000 people on the council housing waiting list.
She is worried that even if she is re-housed, it will be away from the Moulsecoomb area, making it almost impossible for her to get her children, Aliessia Hurst-Jarvis, six, and three-year-old Sonny Rosher, to Moulsecoomb Primary or herself to the American Express Community Stadium where she works as a hospitality manager.
She said: “I’m trying to do my best to give stability for my two children but it’s impossible for me”.
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “Ms Jarvis does not need to worry about the prospect of ‘life on the streets’ – we would not allow this to happen as we have a duty to assist people who have dependent children.
Under pressure
“We’re glad that she has contacted us so far in advance of losing her current accommodation as this gives us time to try and help her find alternative accommodation in the private sector.
“Should all attempts to help her find alternative accommodation have been unsuccessful by such time as an eviction takes place, we would find her emergency temporary accommodation.”
Homeless services have warned the increasing pressures of rising unemployment, the city’s housing shortage, cuts to benefits and charity funding could force rising numbers of people to sleep rough.
Charities have reported seeing the number of former homeowners and professionals being forced to live on the streets following the economic downturn and experts warn the situation could get worse over the next nine months.
See the two-page special report inside today's Argus.
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