London's Hidden Homeless

By Kristianne Colvin and Deepika Rajani

BBC London's Step Up team

They may not be on the streets but they have no home to call their own. Meet London's hidden homeless. Within the UK, there are 400,000 people homeless in one sense or another. Most think of the homeless as those on the streets, rough sleeping, but what is overlooked is the group which is not so visible.

Leslie Morphy, chief executive of homeless charity, Crisis, said: "You've got people living on their family or friends' floors, jumping from one sofa to the next sofa."

Hidden homeless isn't just about those who are rough sleeping, but stay in hostels, bed and breakfasts, temporary accommodation, or with friends or family on their sofas or in their spare rooms, just for a place to sleep for the night.

Although this was a problem before the recession, the current economic downturn has led to a significant rise in numbers.

With people losing their jobs by the thousands because companies are going bust and businesses sizing down, people are finding themselves losing their homes because they can't pay their mortgages, or they can no longer afford the rent.

Leslie Morphy said: "People aren't feeling safe in terms of their housing situations."

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