“Help our hidden victims”-Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds calls for action on rural homelessness

This week in the Senedd, Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds MS has called on the Welsh Government to tackle rural homelessness.

Last year 59 out of every 10,000 households in Powys were unintentionally homeless, far exceeding the national average.

A staggering 73 out of every 10,000 households were classified as facing imminent homelessness, compared to only 49 in the previous year.

Despite being a predominantly rural country, rural homelessness often remains invisible when it comes to policy making. With a recent White Paper published by the Welsh Government on proposed reforms to homelessness laws failing to mention the issue.

Those faced with homelessness in rural areas are often forced to face different challenges compared to urban rough sleepers, such as limited employment opportunities and poor access to relevant services and public transportation.

The Mid and West Wales MS Jane Dodds described those suffering from rural homelessness as “hidden victims of the cost-of-living crisis” and has called for the Welsh Government to do more to address the issue.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“We are all too aware of the devastating impact that the cost-of-living crisis is having on communities across Wales, with our towns and cities seeing huge increases in the number of rough sleepers.

However the issue of rural homelessness is one that has routinely been overlooked when it comes to policy making, with a recent Welsh Government White Paper on reforming homelessness laws failing to even mention it.

Rural homelessness presents unique challenges beyond the scarcity of homes, with a combination of poverty and inaccessibility to jobs and other services accumulating into a dreadful sense of isolation from the rest of society.  

We must help these hidden victims of the cost-of-living crisis who have been ignored by those in Cardiff Bay for far too long.”

END NOTE