Destitution refers to an extreme form of poverty, in which people lack the resources to stay warm, dry, clean and fed. Research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published in November 2023 showed that the number of those in destitution in the UK had risen by 61% since 2019 and 148% since 2017. Some 8.3 million people in the UK experienced destitution in 2023. It is estimated that about 1 million children are being brought up in destitute households.
Apart from the moral issues raised by such extreme levels of deprivation, being destitute has serious impacts on a person’s physical and mental health, as well as their self-esteem and feelings of isolation. Destitution has a severe impact on children’s development. By the age of 3, children living in extreme poverty are behind their better-off peers in both cognitive and socio-emotive skills. Experiences of hardship at a young age can have consequences that last throughout a lifetime. Soaring costs of food, accommodation and energy have significantly contributed to this increase. Disabled people, those with long-term illnesses and people from minority ethnic groups are also more likely than others to be destitute.
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