NanKate - let me give you two examples of why there are so many homeless people.
X is in a low paid job earning minimum wage and in poor health. X's son leaves their 2 bed council flat after university and X is now liable for the 'bedroom tax'. X goes on the waiting list to be rehoused to a one bedroomed flat, but there are none in the area. Already living on the breadline X cannot afford to pay the extra money and so takes a second job. Overwork, stress and illness cause X to give up the second job and rent arrears accrue. X cannot earn enough money to pay the bills and buy food, so sells everything possible to raise money, phone included. X is given Notice of Repossession and faces homelessness. X is 61 and has never been out of work, has no family except for the son who is in his first job and cannot help with accommodation as he is in lodgings. X is suicidal. X is receiving help from the local Food Bank and other charities.
Y has a struggling business and is eventually declared bankrupt. Y's spouse then discloses an ongoing affair and the marriage breaks down resulting in Y leaving the marital home. Y is literally penniless and now has no address or money for a rental deposit, Y was orphaned as a teenager and has no siblings or wider family to call on and, having been a 'workaholic', has few friends. Y 'sofa surfs' initially before moving into a tent in a field. Y is homeless and looking for work for seven months before finally getting a job on minimum wage. Y's mental and physical health is increasingly impacted by the situation. Y is currently saving for a rental deposit and receiving help from the local Food Bank and other charities.
Heartbreakingly I could give you many more examples, but these two demonstrate that homelessness doesn't only happen to 'other' people, it can happen to almost anyone whose circumstances are subject to rapid change. The bloke who's a HGV driver and loses his license (and therefore his job) due to a heart attack, the forty five year old with a learning disability who cannot read or write and suffers from extreme anxiety disorder, but who's just been declared fit for work and had his ESA stopped, the man who became an alcoholic after losing his wife and children (and his home) in a fire, the care leavers, the ex-service men and women........
Sometimes I come home from being with these people and I just weep.