Four people die in Hackney temporary accommodation in a year

Four people died in temporary accommodation in Hackney in the past year – with a council officer admitting that there are “huge amounts of people that we cannot provide appropriate accommodation for”.

The issue was raised at last week’s Living in Hackney scrutiny commission, during which assistant director of benefits and homelessness prevention, Jennifer Wynter, told councillors that there are 579 individuals living in temporary accommodation (TA) in Hackney.

People living in TA are often homeless, with complex mental and physical health needs, and sometimes drug and alcohol dependency.

Last June, 75 per cent of those living in TA were assessed as in need of supported accommodation (SA).

In SA, care workers provide assistance to residents tailored to their individual needs, as opposed to TA, which Wynter described as “sadly, a one-size-fits-all approach”.

“We don’t have provision for anybody in TA, regardless of their protected characteristics,” she explained.

Wynter said she was “very concerned” about this figure, because “we know that temporary accommodation is not a suitable environment for them and will not help them recover”.

When asked about the future development of SA premises, Wynter informed council that they are “not looking at anything being available until 2028/29… which doesn’t stop people dying in temporary accommodation when they’d be better off in supported accommodation”.

“What we have is an extremely small pathway primarily delivered by one support provider and only three sites,” continued Wynter.

“The council and key partners must act now to address the crisis in supported accommodation so that people get the help that they need and are treated with dignity,” Green party co-leader Zoe Garbett told the LDRS.