A HOUSING charity’s emergency helpline is receiving calls “every minute” from people on the brink of homelessness, including families cutting down on food to pay their rent. 

Shelter revealed yesterday that almost 25,000 people in England have rung it in the last two months — equivalent to one person calling every minute. 

Since the coronavirus outbreak, the helpline, which gives free housing advice, has received calls from more than 90,000 people, including 31,625 families.

The charity said that it has heard from families who are being forced to reduce spending on food in order to pay their rent. It warned of a “deeply difficult winter ahead.” 

Shelter is appealing for help from the public so it can continue to answer calls from people facing homelessness. 

Helpline manager Andrea Deakin said: “Our emergency helpline is open 365 days a year because we don’t want anyone to face homelessness alone. But as more people turn to us, we urgently need the public’s support to keep answering their calls.”

The charity is urging people to buy festive lunches at supermarkets of the Marks and Spencer chain, which partly funds the helpline, so that the proceeds will go to Shelter.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, at least 90,063 people have been threatened with homelessness, according to data obtained through freedom of information requests to 204 councils and published last month. Of those people, 46,894 had already registered as homeless. 

Last week, the government announced a further £254 million to go towards ending rough-sleeping. Charities welcomed the additional funds but warned that the amount “falls short” of what is needed to end homelessness.