Cathy in the 21st century

Half a century ago, audiences across the country were shocked and moved by what was later voted the best television drama ever made: Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home.

The play tells the bleak story of an everyday couple who descend into poverty and homelessness, moving into a caravan before their children are taken into care.

The plot was groundbreaking. It laid bare some important, uncomfortable, unspoken truths. That homelessness can happen to anyone. That the safety net was failing people. That there was profound unfairness.

The film spurred action. Individuals got angry. Housing providers and charities were founded. The government took (some) action. Some progress was made, but that is not the end of the story.

Last year, rough sleeping in England jumped 30% - to double the level recorded in 2010. Shocking Inside Housing research reveals that in 2014/15, at least 35 councils took at least one child into care primarily because the family was homeless.

In one authority it happened 43 times. Forty-three times.

Meanwhile, there is clear evidence that thousands of housing benefit claimants are living in caravans and mobile homes as a low-cost option. On one site in Canvey Island, there are 268 households - and those Inside Housing spoke to all faced rents that exceeded their benefits.

We are very far from solving homelessness. It is getting worse.

Homelessness is the “great moral stain on our times”, housing minister Gavin Barwell recently said. He is right. He told volunteers in his Croydon constituency: “I look forward to hearing what I can do, what the council can do and what the community can do.”

Fifty years on from Cathy Come Home, we must take stock. We have made progress.

We can, and must, do more.

Our Cathy at 50 campaign is intended to provoke a debate about homelessness and the solutions, and to celebrate and promote the work that is already underway.

From the Homes for Cathy group to the efforts of the volunteers in Croydon and the dedication of Julie Fadden and colleagues at South Liverpool Homes, there is a collective will to make change happen. And with the evidence from here in the UK and further afield in Finland and Canada, there is a blueprint for success. That is why Inside Housing is calling on the government to commit to ending rough sleeping, on councils to explore adopting the Housing First approach, and on housing associations to make additional stock available.

Inside Housing is promoting this work in the wider media, and we are reaching out to young film-makers with our competition to produce a ‘new Cathy’ highlighting our current homelessness and housing crisis.

We appeal to every reader to get involved and to be part of the solution. Please email martin.hilditch@insidehousing.co.uk to pledge your support and let us know your plans. We will be following progress of Housing First in the coming months.