Homeless children report being exposed to violence, vermin and unspeakable harm, according to Shelter report

Key Points

Shelter Scotland study finds young people are being ‘robbed of a childhood’
It says action is needed to tackle the housing emergency and protect children from further harm
Children living in temporary accommodation shared their stories for the research
They told of being placed in accommodation with urine-soaked carpets, dead rats and broken windows
Archie Grieve, 7, has lived in temporary accommodation his entire life
He now has a bedroom that he can finally call his own after arriving at a more permanent home in Edinburgh with his family

Archie Grieve has lived in temporary accommodation his entire life.

The seven-year-old was born into homelessness and has never known anything else.

But he now has a bedroom that he can finally call his own after arriving at a more permanent home in Edinburgh with his family.

“I never had much space, we weren’t even allowed to decorate,” he told STV News. “In mummy and daddy’s room there was mould and it made me cough.”

The constant moving between various short-term homes also had a lasting impact on him and his family.

Stacey Grieve, Archie’s mother, told STV News: “I’ve tried to hide everything from everybody.

“Sometimes you can’t, it’s hard. The lasting image…I close my eyes at night and all I feel is disgusted at myself because I think I could have done more.

“But I know I couldn’t. It’s just constantly trying to make up for years that you’ve not done your best.”

The family were speaking as a damning report from Shelter, the first of its kind in Scotland, found kids are facing situations harming their health, safety and education.

Children spoke of witnessing violence, vermin, isolation, ill health and financial penalties simply because their family could not find a home without the help of the local authority.

Researchers also found that living in temporary accommodation could affect children’s education and development as many had to frequently move schools, or faced long journeys to school.

The report called for increased and sustained investment for family-sized social homes, and said more emphasis should be placed on quality and suitability of temporary accommodation.

It also said there should be better support for those children living in temporary homes.

The Shelter Scotland report – In Their Own Words: Children’s Experiences in Temporary Accommodation – was led by experts at De Montfort University and University College London.

Alison Watson, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “Temporary accommodation is meant to be a safety net, it’s mean to be the first step out of crisis.

“This research is telling us is far too often, temporary accommodation is making things worse not better.

“It’s adding to the trauma of homelessness and it’s actively harming children. I think if the Scottish Government doesn’t take urgent action we are at the risk of creating a lost generation of children.

“We, as a nation are failing those children trapped in our broken and biased homelessness system. Every child in Scotland has the right to grow up in a safe, secure and affordable home.

“Experiencing homelessness as a child should not be traumatic and filled with worry but it seems that for the 10,360 who will wake up tomorrow without a home, their problems feel never ending.”

The Scottish Parliament declared a nationwide housing emergency in May last year.

Latest Scottish Government figures show that as of September 30 last year, there were 16,634 households living in temporary accommodation – which included 10,360 children.

Despite a promise by the Scottish Government to cut the number of households in temporary accommodation by the end of this parliament, the numbers have risen every year since the election.

The number of children in temporary accommodation has increased by 149% since 2014.

Housing minister Paul McLennan said: “This report from Shelter Scotland shows the impact that long periods of living in poor quality temporary accommodation can have on children and their parents.

“That is why this government is taking action to reduce the number of families living in temporary accommodation.

“Our budget for next year includes a £200m boost to the 2024-25 affordable housing programme, taking our total investment for 2025-26 to £768m and we are working with partners to maximise that investment.”