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February – March 2026 : Progress READ ONLINE

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Progress, pain and possibility

February 01 2026
Emdad (far right) on outreach. © Emdad Rahman Emdad (far right) on outreach. © Emdad Rahman

A reflection on homelessness and how we progress its end. 
By Emdad Rahman

As the new year dawns, many of us think in terms of fresh starts, renewed energy and goals that lift us forward. But for people experiencing homelessness, for rough sleepers on freezing streets and families trapped in temporary B&Bs, new beginnings aren’t a luxury: they are a necessity.

Current figures paint a stark picture: in England alone, at least 382,000 people are now homeless (according to Shelter), including more than 175,000 children: a rise of 8% in just one year. Many are in temporary accommodation without a roadmap to lasting stability.

On the streets, rough sleeping is one of the most visible and dangerous forms of homelessness and continues to rise: 2024 counts found around 4,667 people sleeping rough on a single night, a 20% increase on the prior year, with thousands more uncounted over a month. 
These statistics should sober us, not paralyze us. Progress is twofold:


1. Progress in circumstances

We need homes – permanent, safe, affordable, accessible. The chronic shortage of social housing and council support is a root cause of rising homelessness. We must not settle for temporary fixes. A housing first approach, where permanent housing is the foundation for recovery, should be prioritised.

But progress can also be incremental improvements: offering emergency shelter when temperatures plummet; additional night shelters opening in boroughs; outreach workers building trust and connection on the streets.

These interventions save lives, even as we fight for deeper systemic change.


2. Progress in attitude

Language matters, and respectful, accurate language shifts perceptions. People experiencing homelessness are people first. Rough sleepers are not “a problem to be managed” but individuals with unique stories, challenges and dignity.

Progress means confronting discrimination, from invisible bias to policy exclusion that blames people for circumstances often caused by housing shortages, rising rents, frozen benefits and gaps in mental health services.

One of the most fragile threads in the homelessness equation is mental health. Trauma from loss of housing to years of stress on the streets deepens with isolation and lack of support. Without integrated, accessible mental health care, progress stalls.

Progress looks like outreach teams that listen, like community counsellors walking beside people on their journey, like housing that includes support, not just a key to a door.

This winter, across London and other cities, volunteer-led outreach has transformed cold nights into human connection.

Teams of volunteers and frontline charities walked the streets, bringing hot drinks, warm clothing, sanitary supplies and conversation.

Outreach workers helped connect people with health care, housing advice, emergency shelter options and mental health support.

This is progress you can feel. It is small in scale but vital in depth. Each partnership, each warm meal offered with eye contact and respect, builds trust.

Progress isn’t linear. There are clear tensions and setbacks:

Rising homelessness figures show deep structural failures. Rough sleeping continues to climb year after year. Temporary accommodation often becomes long-term limbo, especially for families and people with complex needs.

Solutions and actions to take on the challenge include: building and protecting affordable homes; expanding housing support services; funding outreach as essential public health work; reforming policy that marginalises vulnerable people and shifting the public narrative.

Progress is a mosaic made up of small meaningful efforts, deep systemic change, human warmth and honest attention to the painful truths. This winter’s outreach was not a cure but it was progress. Every person housed, every connection made, every story heard builds momentum.

Homelessness is a crisis of policy, dignity and community and it demands solutions that are structural and compassionate.

< Cleaning up Time to listen >
February – March 2026 : Progress

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