National Housing Federation: What have we done to eradicate homelessness 40 years since Cathy Come Home
Monday, 27, Nov 2006 12:00
Commenting on the 40th anniversary of Ken Loach's BBC drama 'Cathy Come Home', which vividly portrayed the misery of homelessness to a shocked nation, David Orr, chief executive, National Housing Federation said "A decent place to live is one of the most basic human needs. It is the foundation for a better quality of life. Consequently, the fortieth anniversary of 'Cathy Come Home' is a timely reminder to ask ourselves as a society, 'what have we done to eradicate homelessness and housing need?' and 'what do we have left to do?'.
"Sadly and shockingly, the answer is that in today's England millions of people are still denied access to adequate accommodation and this situation is set to get worse. A housing timebomb is ticking and we need to take action now.
"Not-for-profit housing associations, many of which were set up as a direct result of Cathy Come Home, are at the forefront of meeting all types of housing need and offering life-enhancing opportunities through other services.
"We call upon the government to invest £11.6 billion in new affordable housing in next year's Comprehensive Spending Review, delivering 210,000 affordable homes from 2008 to 2011. Housing associations, through their unique not-for-profit business model, can offer an additional £8.1 billion to meet the total cost of this building programme."
ENDS
For further information contact:
Joe Dumont, 020 7067 1028 / 07990 638946, josephd@housing.org.uk John Goulding, 020 7067 1029 / 07771 663093, johng@housing.org.uk
Notes to editors
The National Housing Federation represents 1400 independent, not-for-profit housing associations in England. Together, our members provide 2 million affordable homes for around 5 million people. www.housing.org.uk
iN business for neighbourhoods is a long-term project to improve the performance of housing associations and challenge negative perceptions of the sector and its customers. www.iNbiz.org