Universal Credit leaves more than 170,000 homeless and on the brink

‘With the debts piling to an unmanageable level, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before I lost my home.’ Sharron Spice couldn’t afford to be out of work. Often hired on short-term contracts with limited hours and already struggling to meet increasing rents, unemployment was a prospect the theatre company owner had always dreaded. Then it happened in October 2019. For four months Sharron searched for a new job, while soaring rent arrears ate away at her savings.

Jointly claiming Universal Credit with her ex-husband, the mother of two spent the first few weeks on the floor of her friend’s living room while she lodged a new claim and registered as homeless with her local council. ‘It was really scary even just making the decision to leave the family home with two children,’ she tells Metro.co.uk. ‘Although the abuse was happening, it felt like I was in a comfortable place even though it really wasn’t.

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