A MALVERN organisation helping the homeless has reminded the public to watch out for the signs of "hidden homelessness"

Chris Lee, from Amaze, has written an impassioned plea to Malvern residents to not forget about the less fortunate.

He said: "At the mention of the word “homeless” public perception draws a mental image of a dishevelled soul in a doorway begging for loose change.

"This is the visible face of homelessness, but just as the Titanic discovered when it struck the iceberg, this is only the tiny tip of the gigantic number of hidden homeless people, just out of sight under the surface."

According to Mr Lee, the hidden homeless are the hundreds of people in Worcestershire that do not own a home, cannot afford to rent and survive by sofa surfing with friends, living in cars, odd nights in B&Bs, squats or hostels.

"The hidden homeless try to conduct ‘normal’ lives, often through shame of their situation they don’t want to draw attention to their plight.

"They are the people who although they have perhaps held on to their job during this pandemic cannot even afford to rent.

"Ever increasing demands for bigger deposits from estate agents have put even being able to rent a modest one bedroom property far from many people’s reach.

"Even with the help of the bank of mom and dad purchasing a property has become nearly impossible for most Millennials."

On June 1, the Covid eviction ban was lifted and disadvantaged people are now desperately searching for new property.

They may have lost the security of a home due to substance or domestic abuse, mental health issues, redundancy, domestic breakups or simply an unsympathetic landlord.

Mr Lee added: "Often when considering “the homeless” the image of a lone male immediately comes to mind, but worryingly statistics show that women’s homelessness is overwhelmingly hidden, not just from the streets, but also from the cultural imagination.

"It is feared that the long term effect of the pandemic is yet to be seen –domestic violence and relationship breakdowns are on the increase.

"This coupled with the fact that more women than men were furloughed and laid off has widened the gender housing affordability gap – this leads to more women and children than men joining the hidden homeless in large numbers.

"Nobody ever wants or plans to be homeless, and when it does happen it is so traumatic it is almost impossible to reconcile your failure.

"You go into denial and your mind refuses to believe the gravity of your situation.

"Sleeping on a friends’ sofa numbs the trauma and disguises the problem for a day or so – you always believe it will get better, soon, but it doesn’t.

"One night becomes two and on it goes, you become part of the hidden homeless always believing that tomorrow will be better.

"Please call us at amaze on 07985693393 or pop into the shop on Malvern Link and have a chat, don’t feel awkward we’ve been homeless too - we’ll do everything we can to help.

Don’t forget there is always help available from Streetlink, Crisis, Shelter, St Paul’s, Malvern Hills District Council and the foodbank.