The latest national rough sleeping figures confirm a trend that frontline organisations like ours have been witnessing for some time: homelessness in England is rising at a pace that should concern us all. The Government’s autumn 2025 snapshot shows 4,793 people sleeping rough on a single night, the highest number ever recorded and a further increase on last year. Alongside this, statutory homelessness data shows record numbers of households in temporary accommodation, signalling a system under severe pressure.
In Cambridgeshire, the picture is no less stark, local data indicates that around 40 people are sleeping rough in Cambridge on any given night, and approximately 2,000 people are living in temporary or emergency accommodation across the county. But these figures only capture what can be counted. In Fenland, homelessness often takes forms that remain hidden: people sleeping in cars on rural laybys, staying in agricultural buildings or moving between overcrowded homes because there is nowhere safe or affordable to go.
Rural homelessness is often hidden from view, but the risks people face are very real. In Fenland, long distances between towns, limited local services and a shortage of safe, affordable housing mean that when someone hits a crisis point, the support they need can be harder to reach. People can find themselves without a home for many different reasons relationship breakdown, loss of employment, health challenges or simply the lack of available housing. What they have in common is that the safety net around them isn’t strong enough or close enough to catch them when they need it most. At The Ferry Project, we see the consequences every day: people arriving exhausted, unwell, and frightened after long periods without stability or safety.

The individuals behind these statistics are diverse and their journeys into homelessness are just as varied, there is no single story or single cause. What people share is the experience of trying to navigate systems that are stretched too thin to meet rising needs, especially in places where support is harder to reach.
What is happening nationally is not abstract for us, it is lived reality in Wisbech, March, Chatteris and the villages across the Fens. When someone is sleeping rough miles from the nearest town, without lighting, transport or access to basic services, their risk of harm increases dramatically. Rural poverty is deep, persistent, and often hidden and it requires a response designed with those realities in mind.

We welcome the ambition of the National Plan to End Homelessness, but ambition alone will not change outcomes. Local authorities and frontline services need long‑term, secure investment to provide the emergency accommodation, supported housing and specialist provision that people rely on. Prevention must become the norm, not the aspiration and rural areas like Fenland must be recognised as places where homelessness is rising, complex, and too often overlooked.
The Ferry Project remains committed to working with partners across to build a system that is compassionate, trauma‑informed, and genuinely accessible. But we cannot do this in isolation, ending homelessness in cities and in rural communities requires political will, sustained funding, and a recognition that every person deserves safety, dignity, and a place to call home.

Sandra Ferreira
CEO - Ferry Project