This terrifying statistic shows escalating crisis of UK rough sleeping over past decade

The number of people faced with the harsh reality of homelessness in the UK continues to rise. In the capital, the number of rough sleepers on the streets has increased by 10% over the last year - while over the last decade, the number of people rough sleeping in London has increased by 63%. And across the UK, we are also seeing an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness.

Between April and June 2024, the number of households assessed as homeless has risen by 13.8% compared with the same period in the previous year. These statistics show the scale of homelessness across society and the devastating impact it has on people's lives. At the sharpest end of this crisis is rough sleeping, which our frontline teams see day in, day out; it can be lonely, dangerous, and life-threatening, with the threat of violence, abuse and illness constantly around the corner.

The longer somebody spends sleeping rough, the harder it can be to access support. We also know that the longer a person spends living on the streets, the worse their mental and physical health becomes.

But it is not just life chances that are reduced - life expectancy is, too. It is so damaging that men who are sleeping rough can expect to live to 45, and for women it is just 43.

There are many complicated and overlapping factors which may lead to a person becoming homeless. Falling behind on rent and bills, losing a job, going through a bereavement or relationship breakdown, or a lack of support with mental health issues are all possible reasons why a person may experience homelessness.

Homelessness really can happen to anyone, and far from being a distant issue, the shocking extent of the homelessness crisis is in plain sight - on the very streets people walk down every single day. No two people have the same experience of homelessness, and every single person has a different personal story to tell of hope and resilience.

People like David have been homeless for around ten years, on and off, before he met St Mungo's. After a terrifying attack one night while sleeping rough, he had begun to lose hope - but he is now pursuing his passion and studying film at university.

Others like Arwa have been turfed out of an increasingly unaffordable private rented sector. Arwa's landlord sold her rented flat, she could not find anywhere to live that would allow her to stay with her dog, Jacko - and after the stress of the situation led to her losing her job, she was forced to sleep rough.

Arwa and Jacko were given a room at a St Mungo's hostel. That same afternoon, Jonathan arrived after nine weeks on the streets. The pair became good friends, which soon blossomed into love. They now live together in private rented accommodation as a family of four: Arwa, Jonathan, Jacko, and their beautiful son.

Our Outreach teams are there, every single day and night, looking for the people who urgently need our support in accessing a safe and warm place to begin their recovery.

We know that putting a roof over somebody's head is a good place to start, but it does not always put an end to the cycle of homelessness. This is why we work alongside people every step of the way as they rebuild their lives, from opening doors to health services to providing programmes to allow people to connect with the community, as well as to find new skills and develop existing ones.

Homelessness is still such a stigmatised issue, however the more stories we hear from people who are affected by it the more we can understand it - and continue to work on solutions to address it. Stories of people whose lives have been rebuilt show that it is possible to end homelessness for good.

You can hear these powerful stories in full as part of St Mungo's new campaign - We Were Here. If you're in London, you can find the charity's bright orange 'Herephones' at five locations around the capital. But they're also online, too. We'd encourage anybody passing by to stop and listen. It might just change your perceptions of homelessness.

Hannah Faulkner is Head of Rough Sleeper Services at St Mungo's.To find out more about St Mungo's We Were Here campaign and listen to the stories of people the charity has helped, visit mungos.org/we-are-here