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QUOTES FROM THE MEDIA
NUMBER OF HOMELESS FAMILIES IN ENGLAND UP 11 PER CENT IN A YEAR, FIGURES SHOW
CHURCH SETS UP SAFE HOUSES FOR GANG MEMBERS WANTING TO LEAVE LIFE OF CRIME
‘HIGHER NEED FOR FOOD BANKS THE LONGER UNIVERSAL CREDIT EXISTS’
The number of families considered homeless in England has surged by 11 per cent, with a household found to be without a home every four minutes, according to new figures. Government data shows in the first three months of this year, there were 25,130 families with children identified as homeless, compared with 22,700 the previous quarter. The number of children living in temporary accommodation, such as B&Bs, hostels and councilowned properties, meanwhile hit a 13-year high at 126,020, up 83 per cent since its lowest point in June 2011. Campaigners said the rise… was the result of ‘cripplingly expensive’ private rents, frozen housing benefits and lengthy waiting lists for social homes.
A church group in London has set up 23 safe houses for gang members who are willing to turn their life around and escape from a life of crime. Pastors from Spac Nation church have spearheaded the new project. There have been 63 fatal stabbings in the capital this year. Senior pastor Tobi Adegboyega told Sky News many of the youngsters he sees are missing out on a real childhood. ‘In our community now, teenage years are drugs and knives. Most times it’s [the project] their first chance. These guys haven’t seen the other part of life. Then they can make a decision if they want to live right or not.’ So far more than 100 young people have taken part in the scheme. They are also helped with education and employment while they’re there.
The Independent
Premier
Suspects charged with criminal or immigration offences could be victims of modern slavery who have been forced to break wthe law, solicitors have been told. The Law Society has published guidance on what solicitors should do if they believe they are acting for a suspect who appears to have been exploited. It warns solicitors to look out for clients with false identity documents and few possessions, who are unsure of their address or other personal details or who show signs of fear and anxiety, distrust of authorities or evidence of violence. More than 70 million people worldwide are in some form of modern slavery, including child labour, forced marriage and forced commercial sex acts, according to the Global Slavery Index.
The need for food banks increases in areas where universal credit has been in operation the longest, according to new research. The Trussell Trust’s food banks in areas where the benefit has been rolled out for at least a year have seen a 30 per cent increase in demand. The charity said demand jumps to 40 per cent where universal credit has been in place for at least 18 months. The Trust urged the government to end the fiveweek wait for the benefit, warning that its study showed the longer it was rolled out in an area, the more people were ‘plunged into poverty’. The Trussell Trust’s chief executive Emma Revie said: ‘Universal credit should be there to anchor any of us against the tides of poverty, but the five-week wait fatally undermines this principle, pushing people into debt, homelessness and destitution. ‘In a society that believes in justice and compassion, this isn’t right, but it is something that can be fixed.’
The Times
Wales Online
SUSPECTS COULD BE VICTIMS OF MODERN SLAVERY, LAWYERS TOLD
SALVATIONIST (tel) 020 7367 4890 (email) salvationist@salvationarmy.org.uk (web) www.salvationarmy.org.uk/salvationist EDITOR Lieut-Colonel Jonathan Roberts – (tel) 020 7367 4901 MANAGING EDITOR Ivan Radford – (tel) 020 7367 4891 EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Shanelle Manderson – (tel) 020 7367 4894 Simon Hope – (tel) 020 7367 4892 Melita Day-Lewis – (tel) 020 7367 4887 Major Margaret Bovey ART DIRECTOR Hannah Holden – (tel) 020 7367 4883 GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Mark Knight – (tel) 020 7367 4895 Louise Phillips – (tel) 020 7367 4896 PROOFREADER Chris Horne
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Salvationist 28 September 2019
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