The housing crisis will derail the Welsh Government’s goal of being the world’s first Nation of Sanctuary unless engagement from the housing sector is increased , says a new report released from Housing Justice Cymru.
The report, We Can’t be a Nation of Sanctuary Without Housing, calls on the Welsh Government to work with charities, local government and housing associations to prevent people seeking sanctuary in Wales from becoming homeless.
It found that 86 per cent of associations in Wales have supported councils through UK Government Resettlement Schemes to find housing solutions for people affected by the wars in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. However, very few have been engaged in finding housing solutions for people from countries outside of these schemes.
Nicola Evans, director of Housing Justice Cymru said: ‘Many interviewees told us that councils are generally looking to the private rented sector to provide accommodation for most people seeking sanctuary in Wales. At the same time, they reported a huge decline in the number of private rental properties available. We also know from our work and that of partner organisations, that people seeking sanctuary generally don’t have the references or deposits needed to access accommodation in the private sector.
‘In our view, social housing providers need to be part of the solution. Without their engagement, we anticipate seeing more people who have fled war and persecution facing homelessness and it’s very difficult to see how we will ever legitimately be able to call ourselves a Nation of Sanctuary.’
The report’s findings and recommendations are based on interviews with 35 housing associations registered and operating across Wales. All were open to contributing to the Welsh Government’s aim of becoming the first Nation of Sanctuary whilst at the same time expressing their deep concern about the level of homelessness generally that now exists across Wales.
As one interviewee put it when asked about what stands in the way of them doing more to help: ‘Barriers? Just not enough housing…people are still in hotels post-pandemic. There is no move-on. The majority are single people, but some are families. We’re supporting one family where there’s three people in one room.’
The report contributes to a Comic Relief-funded collaborative project between Housing Justice Cymru, Wales Refugee Council and Tai Pawb.
Alicja Zalesinska, chief executive at Tai Pawb said: ‘Earlier this month, the Welsh Government published its updated Anti-racist Wales Action Plan. The plan re-affirms the commitment to anti-racism in all housing endeavours, central to which is the ambitious goal to make homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated. We cannot achieve this ambition without decisive government action to address the rising homelessness amongst people seeking sanctuary. Increasing the engagement of the housing sector is essential to making this vision a reality.’