On any given night last year, at least 2,967 people in Bristol were homeless, according to data released last week by the charity Shelter. In response to the figures, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council said "preventing homelessness remains our priority" but recognised that "the city remains gripped by a housing crisis".
Shelter's research, derived from an analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to Freedom of Information requests, shows that nearly 10,500 people are recorded as homeless in the South West, including 4,350 children. According to the figures, Bristol had the highest rate of homelessness in the region, with around one in 183 people living in a hostel, temporary accommodation, or on the streets.
Of the total number of people Shelter says were homeless in Bristol and the surrounding area last year, 87 were sleeping rough, and 2,880 - mainly families - were living in temporary accommodation. Shelter estimates that almost half of those without a home, 44 per cent, or 1,291, were children.
