Homelessness and Poverty

As we rush through our commute, to work, to our homes, to the bars, to schools, we come across the increasingly common sight of the homeless and those rough sleeping. We may drop a coin in a paper cup – though not many of us carry cash – or offer a sandwich or a hot drink, or we may rush past telling ourselves how terrible it is and promise to pray for them. We may reassure ourselves that pain is everywhere and that world is a dark place and what little we can do to change it.

At a recent prayer vigil on 9 June 2026 in Spain, Pope Leo XIV admonished attempts to "spiritualise pain, superficially attributing it to 'God's will' or to some mysterious plan of his, because this risks minimising that suffering, silencing it and hurting people." "God does not want suffering. He carries it with us and invites us to trust in him with perseverance," he said, because "with God, life is always reborn."

Throughout our outreach services I am continuously reminded of what could’ve gone wrong in a person’s life – who let them down; what services didn’t intervene in school; who could’ve stepped in to make a difference before things got so bad? We may choose to judge the homeless, blaming a lack of self-control, citing addiction or bad life choices. This is a way to distance ourselves from the reality that this could happen to any one of us – and it is only sheer luck or privilege that keeps us housed, while others are not. We may insulate ourselves from the desperate sight, reassuring ourselves that we wouldn’t be in that position because we are ‘wiser’ or ‘hard working’ or ‘blessed’. It may come as a shock to some of us to find out that the biggest predictor of homelessness for adults according to the research, is childhood poverty.

The Households Below Average Income report, measuring household incomes in the years since 2021-22 noted the most tragic statistic: that nearly three-quarters of children in poverty live in a household where at least one adult is employed.

According to the Bevan Foundation, a mixed ethnicity female child who experiences poverty, is raised by a lone parent, leaves school early, has spells of unemployment, and lives as a renter has a 71.2% predicted probability of experiencing homelessness by age 30. In contrast, a white male in a relatively affluent childhood in the rural south of England, an unproblematic school career, went to university and graduated at 21, who was living with his parents at age 26, with no partner relationship and no children has a predicted probability of homelessness by age 30 of 0.6%.

The reality looks very stark when you realise that 38% of children in London live in relative poverty, compared with 29% in England as a whole. Campaigners as well as foodbanks have long warned that the data showed millions of people on low incomes still struggled to afford basic items such as food and energy. The use of food banks by those employed and unemployed is at record levels and too many people continued to experience the trauma of poverty.

The very real tragedy of homelessness is this: it is the demonstrable visible result of an invisible class system – a widening gap – which is now showing us the true consequences of the complacency that can only come with our privilege. Are we willing to challenge the myth of fairness, social mobility and meritocracy in a society where being born into the wrong household can increase your chances of being on the streets by 71.2%?

Child Poverty Data in London (2025–2026):

• Approximately 38% of London’s children live in relative poverty, compared to a national average of 27%.
• London has the highest child poverty rate in England, significantly higher than the South-East (20.8%).
• The highest child poverty rates are in East London: Tower Hamlets (50.3%), Hackney (50.1%), and Newham (44.9%).
• Over 8 in 10 (84%) children in poverty live in rented accommodation (private or social), with 300,000 children in social housing affected.
• Around 140,000 children aged 4 and under are in poverty, while 36% of children aged 5–9 are affected
• Nearly a third of children in the UK are living in poverty. This means they are at major risk of homelessness and often cold or going to bed hungry and in nearly three quarters of those homes there is an adult employed full time – so this raises questions about the ability of families to have a dignified life while working on minimum wage.

Verses to meditate upon

Isaiah 58:10 "and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” (NIV)

Matthew 25:35 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” (NIV)

Pope Leo XIV tells us that a "healthy sense of restlessness" must be cultivated instead of chasing relentlessly after profit, performance, and perfection. "When people learn to pause and value what is important … allowing themselves to be enlightened by the Gospel, they also develop a critical perspective on a social system that does not put people first." Pope Leo XIV advises us that Christians must be kind, gentle, compassionate, selfless "and seek the good of others, knowing that in every brother and sister who suffers it is the Lord himself."

What you can do in London and beyond

Feed children in London: https://www.feedlondon.org/

Support families through Family Action: https://family-action.org.uk/our-work-impact/food-financial-hardship/

Feed a child for a whole year for £19.15 to keep them in school: https://www.marysmeals.org.uk

Open your home to foster a child or young person at risk of homelessness in the UK: https://www.stepbystep.org.uk/get-involved/open-my-home/

Sponsor a child via a church outreach abroad: https://www.compassionuk.org/

Advocate for housing justice: https://england.shelter.org.uk/what_we_do

Additional resources and information

Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Jan 2026 report: UK Poverty 2026:
https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2026-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk

HM Government: Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696646bc99fbdc498faecd98/child-poverty-strategy.pdf

Guardian, 26 March 2026: London has England’s highest levels of child poverty, data shows
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/26/child-poverty-london-housing-crisis#:~:text=Pat%20McFadden%2C%20the%20work%20and,%25)%20and%20Manchester%20(42.3%25)

Bramley, G., & Fitzpatrick, S. (2018). Homelessness in the UK: who is most at risk? Housing Studies, 33(1), 96–116.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/02673037.2017.1344957?needAccess=true

United Conference of Catholic Bishops: Christianity is not about perfection, no one is defined by suffering, mistakes, pope says.
https://www.usccb.org/news/2026/christianity-not-about-perfection-no-one-defined-suffering-mistakes-pope-says