People become homeless for lots of different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment; and life events which push people into homelessness. People are forced into homelessness when they leave prison, care or the army with no home to go to. Many women experiencing homelessness have escaped a violent or abusive relationship.

There is no national figure for how many people are homeless across the UK. This is because homelessness is recorded differently in each nation, and because many homeless people do not show up in official statistics at all. Crisis carries out an annual study in response to concerns that many people experiencing homelessness are not being accurately recorded in official statistics. Known as core homelessness, it includes rough sleeping, people living in sheds, garages and other unconventional buildings, sofa surfing, hostels and unsuitable temporary accommodation such as B&Bs.

A charity is an organization which raises money in order to help people who are sick or very poor, or who have a disability.

Early childhood education, also known as nursery education, is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children from birth up to the age of eight. Traditionally, this is up to the equivalent of third grade.

About 9.2% of the world, or 689 million people, live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day, according to the World Bank. In the United States, 10.5% of the population — 34 million people — live in poverty as of 2019.

Child Foundation is an international charity organization that helps children living in poverty remain in school. The children sponsored through our programs are in great financial need, and many of the children we assist are orphans or children living in emergency situations.