Tracy Mason-Fayle is a level 2 Early Childhood Student; here she shares her reflections on a painting depicting a family living in poverty and how this might relate to current concerns.
Image credit: Birmingham Museums Trust
The painting ‘Charity’ is by an artist called William Adolphe Bouguereau. It was painted in 1865 and depicts a desperate scene of times gone by. The image represents poverty, homelessness, and suffering; it depicts inequalities and deprivation. Although painted in 1865, it is a poignant image of despair and hopelessness and how that impacts wellbeing. Yet, it only takes a glance at today’s news to understand that homelessness is not an issue buried in history. Rather, it is very much a current concern. For example, an online article by Big Issue, a social enterprise group set up in 1991 to ‘help millions of people in the UK affected by poverty to earn, learn and thrive’ found that:
- Homelessness affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK even though we have the world’s sixth biggest economy with one in every 200 households impacted by this issue.
- Numbers of people who are homeless are consistently increasing.
- Nearly 160, 000 children live in temporary accommodation having no place to call a real home in England alone.
Shelter (2024) has recorded the impact of the ‘right to buy scheme,’ which sold off social housing (1980 Social Housing Act) leaving fewer available social houses, allowing private landlords to demand higher rents. This created uncertainties and the threat of homelessness for families. Tenants feel less secure, a ‘constant threat’ of moving causing disruption to children’s well-being and schooling. Jules Birch speaks emotively of the ‘huge human cost’ to children who live in temporary accommodation as he reflects on the latest figures released at the end of last year. This current economic and political issue is caused by low or no income and impacts on children and young people’s wellbeing leaving them feeling ‘unsettled and insecure’. Citizen’s advice (2024) advises that social services ‘might’ be able to help with finding accommodation for someone who cares for a child although their criteria state:
If you’re homeless and you have children, social services only have to find somewhere for your children to live if they decide they’re in need. But they should try to house you with your children if possible. Your child is in need if:
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- they’re disabled
- their health or development wouldn’t reach a reasonable level or would be damaged without help from social services
This begs the question – when wouldn’t a child’s health or development be impacted by being without a home?
Bouguereau’s picture was painted nearly 200 years ago, how poignant that the scene he depicts reminds us of present-day concerns. We may not see children begging on the street in the UK but certainly they can be seen in other European cities. However, this is not to congratulate the UK at all, given the high number of invisible children in this context, not necessarily begging on the streets but certainly living in poverty without a place to call home.