asianaffairs

                              asianaffairs-Feb 2008

                                         Shelter

Helping reduce pressure on minority housing

   People from BME (Black and minority ethnic) groups in England are twice as likely to become homeless as their white counterparts. Especially, over half of Bangladeshi children are living in cramped, overcrowded housing.
   These statistics are rarely written about or discussed. BME groups are lumped in the overall statistics, obfuscating facts.
   Government figures show that people from BME groups are skewed among low-income households, are more likely to struggle to pay their housing costs, and end up with rent or mortgage arrears. Unemployment is disproportionate amongst them.
   Some families simply do not know their housing rights. Or they are unwilling to exercise them, for example, by requesting a big enough house from their social landlord. Overcrowding can also arise from families living in extended units.
   Many Asian families are putting up with overcrowded, temporary or unfit living conditions when they could be getting advice for better housing.
   The language barrier is significant. A recent report by Shelter, a housing and homelessness charity, titled ‘The Advice Gap’, revealed how language and trust barriers prevent BME communities from accessing expert help.
   Shelter is developing a range of measures to tackle the issue, with some pioneering projects.
   In Stratford, East London, Shelter’s Housing Advice and Support Centre (SHASC) is working to help homeless BME families find and keep a home. It offers free independent housing advice in the Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham areas.
   In weekly drop-in meetings, held in local community centres, specially trained Shelter personnel provide advice on issues relating to housing benefit claims, recognising harassment, and dealing with illegal eviction. The project also specialises in offering multilingual advice to individuals whose first language is not English.
   The next phase of the project will focus on networking and capacity building to ensure that Shelter reaches as wide an audience as possible, improve the quality of housing advice being given, and work with those who have already gained the trust of and linked up with local BME communities.
   Abbey Charitable Trust recently donated £30,000 to Shelter to ‘help vulnerable groups and empower them to make informed decisions about their money and, in turn, to find and keep a secure home’.
In its new Children’s Appeal for BME work, called Keys to the Future,     Shelter is raising £7 million to open nine children’s projects in some of the most deprived areas of Scotland and England, in Bristol, London, Gloucestershire, Merseyside, Scotland and South Yorkshire.
   Shelter’s 2006 report ‘Against the Odds’ highlighted how children living in unfit and overcrowded accommodation are almost a third more likely than other children to suffer respiratory problems such as chest problems, breathing difficulties, asthma and bronchitis. Also, children in overcrowded housing are up to ten times more likely to contract meningitis than children in general, according to the British Medical Journal. A report from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister also showed that there is a direct link between childhood tuberculosis and overcrowding.
   Spearheading Shelter’s fundraising drive in the Asian community is Sheetal Mehta, winner of the 2005 Asian Women of Achievement Award, and Management Today’s ‘35 Under 35’ accolade (for the top 35 women in business under 35 in the UK). She is mainly working on the project Keys to the Future.