Following new government data that showed 159,000 children and their families will spend the festive period living in temporary accommodation, B&Q and Shelter have worked with such families to depict the realities of their living conditions in snow globes.
The alternative decorations will show conditions ranging from rodent and insect infestations, to broken utilities, and inadequate accessibility. As B&Q predicts that over 17 million people across the UK are due to purchase their Christmas trees this week, it will therefore hang the alternative snow globe scenes on trees at B&Q stores nationwide.
The DIY giant is also donating £1 from every real tree sold to Shelter across the festive season and hosting fundraising activities across 311 stores throughout the UK from 06 – 08 December, where customers can donate at checkout which will then be matched by B&Q.
B&Q is also selling Shelter Christmas jumpers and cards with all proceeds donated to the charity.
Graham Bell, CEO of B&Q, said: “At B&Q, we believe everybody should have a safe and settled home – especially at Christmas. But sadly, that picture-perfect festive scene may not be the reality for many children and families living in temporary accommodation.
“Since launching our partnership in 2017, our colleagues and customers have raised more than £5mn for Shelter and their partner charities – Shelter Cymru, Housing Rights in Northern Ireland and Focus Ireland, and we are proud to be continuing our commitment to Shelter this Christmas.”
The B&Q initiative was inspired by Shelter’s ‘Living in Limbo‘ report that surveyed over 1,000 people living in temporary accommodation. The report found that a devastating four in 10 (40%) reported problems with damp, mould or condensation, over a third (35%) had issues with insect or animal infestations and over half of parents (57%) say that living in temporary accommodation has harmed their child’s health.
“It is utterly unacceptable that so many families will spend the festive season homeless and trapped in overcrowded, damp, unsafe temporary accommodation,” added Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter.
“Sky high private rents combined with a dire shortage of genuinely affordable social homes has caused homelessness to spiral and sadly it’s children who are paying the price. Too many are growing up sharing beds with siblings, in one-room hostels infested with cockroaches, bedbugs, and rats, in conditions that harm their health and futures.”
Stay informed
Our editor carefully curates two newsletters a week filled with up-to-date news, analysis and research, click here to subscribe to the FREE newsletter sent straight to your inbox and why not follow us on LinkedIn to receive the latest updates on our research and analysis.
