New estimates suggest that dozens of people were homeless in Mendip on any given night in 2022.

Shelter, a leading homelessness charity, has used government statistics, Freedom of Information requests and data from the membership charity Homeless Link to work out how many people are without a home in England.

It estimates 43 people were homeless in Mendip on any given night in 2022 – including 15 children.

This was equivalent to one in every 2,700 people in the area, the charity said.

But there are fears this number may show only part of the truth.

Homelessness charity Crisis has estimated that as many as 62 per cent of single homeless people do not show up on official figures and run the risk of slipping through the cracks.

The number of people living in temporary accommodation has risen by an alarming 74% in the last 10 years – something that housing charity Shelter argues is driven by the chronic shortage of social homes, and an over-reliance on grossly expensive and unstable private renting.

More than two-thirds of families (68%) living in temporary accommodation have been there for over a year, showing this type of accommodation is becoming less and less "temporary" as families cannot escape homelessness due to the severe lack of affordable homes. This is a situation made even worse by the three-year freeze on housing benefit, and cost of living crisis.

They say an average of 1,000 calls per day are made to the charity's emergency helpline, of which almost eight in ten (78%) callers are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless – a figure which has increased by 8% since last year.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: "A cold doorway or a grotty hostel room is not a home, but this is reality for too many people today.

"Our frontline advisers are working tirelessly to help people who are desperate to escape homelessness - from the parents doing all they can to provide some shred of a normal family life while stuck in an emergency B&B, to the person terrified of another night sleeping rough.

"With private rents and living costs continuing to soar, thousands of people are not just facing a winter of worry, they are at risk of losing the roof over their head. At Shelter, we are bracing ourselves for a sharp rise in homelessness in 2023. More than ever, we will be relying on the public's generosity to help us support and campaign for all those fighting for a safe home."

If you feel that you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, please contact the Housing Options team at Mendip District Council on 0300 303 8588 to make an appointment to see an Officer. The Officer's aim will be to try to prevent you from becoming homeless.

Dependant upon your circumstances, they will either offer you advice and assistance or take a homeless application from you.

Have you seen someone who is, or are you sleeping rough?

— Call the Rough Sleeper Line on 0300 500 0914