Many of us are only one or two missed paydays away from becoming homeless. The government estimates that over 100,000 households are now in temporary homeless accommodation in England, and for many without access to support, the only option left is to sleep rough.

We face this reality due to the catastrophic failure of housing and immigration policies presided over by Suella Braverman and her government, during a cost of living crisis. However, she has today proposed to criminalise both people sleeping rough in tents, and those charities providing tents to rough sleepers. The plan has been roundly condemned in an open letter from 15 housing sector leaders. 

This winter, an alarming number of people will be forced to sleep rough, which is an absolute tragedy. This will be for numerous reasons which are unique to people’s circumstances. However, a significant proportion of them will be the direct result of Suella Braverman recently choosing to evict people from hotels while their asylum claims remain outstanding, and placing responsibility for their housing onto already stretched local authorities. It's a situation that has arisen due to the fundamental failure of Suella Braverman's department to process asylum claims efficiently. There were a record 215,500 claims still to be processed in June this year, with asylum seekers typically waiting many months or even years for a decision. 

And for asylum seekers that do get a decision confirming their refugee status, since August the Home Office has reduced the time they then have to find their own accommodation, and the employment or the benefit income to do so, to just 28 days from date of asylum decision. It's simply not enough time for them, or stretched local authorities to find suitable housing before they are forced out of asylum accommodation. The British Red Cross states that homelessness is now an almost guaranteed part of getting refugee status. They predict that due to Suella Braverman’s policies, a further 50,000 refugees could be made homeless by the end of 2023, many of whom will end up on our streets.

Instead of admitting accountability for these failings, Suella Braverman instead seeks to stoke division by criminalising the most vulnerable people in our society - those who have no other choice but to sleep rough, and which include those asylum seekers that she, through her actions, is directly making homeless in the first place. What’s more, by attempting to reduce the visibile extent of rough sleeping by banning tents for rough sleepers, she is actively trying to hide the consequences of her actions. 

We used to be so much better than this. We must demand change now before more people are unjustly penalised for circumstances beyond their control, and secure appropriate support for them.

We call on you not just as citizens concerned about justice and fairness, but as human beings who believe that everyone deserves dignity and respect, regardless of their circumstances. Let us stop Suella Braverman from criminalising rough sleepers this winter – it's time that she takes responsibility for her department's failings instead, and that our society’s most vulnerable people are treated with basic human dignity and respect. 

Please sign this petition today – because we all deserve better than this.