Homeless Near a Thousand Homes by Bryan Glastonbury

Author:Bryan Glastonbury [Glastonbury, Bryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0043010423
Goodreads: 28338262
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 1971-05-27T00:00:00+00:00

Housing: state of repair.

No objective assessment was made of the state of the family’s dwelling, but the families were asked about any problems they might have. The figures given in Table XXIV tend therefore to be more a statement of family complaints than an accurate measure of the condition of their dwellings.

TABLE XXIV HOUSING: STATE OF REPAIR IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER TEMPORARY ACCOMMODATION (Percentages of the Relevant Sample Size All survey areas South Wales only West of England only County Boroughs only County councils only

Before After Before After Before After Before After Before After

Structural faults 25.0 21.8 26.2 27.3 22.6 10.3 23.1 16.9 26.4 28.9

Bad interior decoration 23.4 24.8 23.1 27.3 24.2 19.1 24.0 28.5 21.9 18.4

Wet walls 30.1 33.5 27.7 36.7 37.1 26.5 28.1 31.5 34.2 36.8

Paper peeling off 14.1 13.1 10.8 12.9 21.0 13.2 11.6 10.0 17.8 18.4

Plaster breaking off 12.0 8.7 13.1 10.1 9.7 5.9 9.9 9.2 15.1 7.9

Safe for children 66.4 74.9 69.2 75.2 63.9 74.2 70.5 75.7 62.3 74.6

Unsafe for children 32.6 25.1 30.8 24.8 36.1 25.8 29.5 24.3 37.7 25.4

The Table shows very little change in the before and after situation for the entire survey area. Well over half of the families had at least one complaint to make about their dwelling, and a substantial minority had several complaints. The South Welsh, however, seemed to feel a good deal less contented with their rehousing than their West of England counterparts. In four of the five categories listed there were more complaints about the first dwelling after temporary accommodation than about the one before it. In contrast, although the overall level of comments from West of England families was similar for the pre-temporary accommodation dwelling, they dropped substantially afterwards.

Families were also asked about the suitability of their homes for their children–whether it was safe or unsafe. A third before the hostel and a quarter afterwards felt that their homes were unsafe.

Overall, although the vast majority of families were profoundly grateful for having a roof over their heads, they had many substantial and often serious complaints in detail about their housing conditions. On the families’ own assessment of the long-term changes in their housing position, only 34 per cent felt that there had been some improvement. 19 per cent felt that their position had deteriorated and 37 per cent considered that there had been no change. The assessment of the causes of homelessness gave a high rating to some issues of housing management, but it gave rather low importance to housing conditions as such. However, whatever the causes of homelessness might be, the families who used temporary accommodation have lived, and can expect to continue to live, in some of the worst housing in South Wales and the West Country.

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