TW: Discussion of abuse and actions being taken
Since I'm finished my college work, I decided to read through my different charity group chats to see what I've missed over the last while. One of the group chats I'm in was discussing the rise in housing issues and how the BBC reported those figures in England rising rather than falling.
The article only came out last month (23 September 2019), and highlighted that 8.4m people are in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes in England. Their statistics broke this down into different categories with numbers:
-3.6m people are considered to be in overcrowded homes;
-2.5m people are considered to be in unaffordable homes;
-2.5m people are considered to be in what are known as "hidden households". Further broken down, this covers house shares, adults living at home and those who are still living with their ex partners;
-1.7m people are considered to be in unsuitable housing;
-1.4m are in poor quality homes - I assume this means houses that are falling apart, covered in stuff like mould, and houses that are otherwise needing some serious overhauling to become suitable to live in and;
-400,000 people are at risk of homelessness.
The article further reported that 3.6m people could only afford to live decently if social housing was available to them. That number is almost double the official housing waiting list. Rents for social housing are around 50% cheaper than those of private housing as councils usually cover the base of the rents. Around 340,000 new houses need built every year, with 145,000 needing to be social housing to meet the demands.
I don't have the words to describe how annoyed I feel about this. Here we are, in the 21st century, living in a first world country, dealing with a housing crisis. Those who need it the most are those affected by poor government decisions made in regards to housing. But what I can I do about it? I'm just one person whose following mostly can't vote since they're too young, I'm not really much of an "influence" in that aspect.
And it's not just the housing crisis, oh no. The growing number of inequalities in this country is astounding to say the least, and I don't expect it to be any better back home in Ireland. Even my home city of Dublin is rife with inequalities and its own affordable housing crisis. It's one thing to recognise what's going on, and it's another to act upon it.
//
R: [finishes drumming]
E: [joking] 145 more takes! [realising] If I end up using these demos in the final project, does that mean I have to legally credit you for it?
[computer makes strange noise]
E: [similar to Freddie] Roger what did you do?!
[both Brian and Roger notice similarities to Freddie]
E: [laughs] On a more serious note, is the computer alright? Is everything okay?
B: [checking] Everything is safe and sound, it was just an email coming through.
E: Bueno. [looks on phone and reads message from Maya]
M: Fight broke out in Marino. I've been hit accidentally with what felt like a brick, currently in nurse's office. Should be fine, though I don't think my hand is.
E: Jesus...
B: What's up?
E: A fight broke out and Maya was hit with what I assume is one of those... by the sounds of things it could've just been a Doc Marten.
YOU ARE READING
The Trials and Tribulations of a so-called Trouble Teen
General FictionThings never seem to go smoothly for Evin. Each day presents a new challenge for them, sometimes more difficult than others. Despite all this, they power through life their way and they won't stop at anything until they achieve their goals, or justi...
