Finding Warmth Together in Blackpool
At Helping Hearts Fylde, we exist for moments like this.
Recently, we were honoured to welcome Granada Reports to one of our Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) activations here in Blackpool. When SWEP is triggered by Blackpool Council, it means temperatures have dropped low enough that being on the streets isn’t just uncomfortable — it can be deadly.
Granada’s reporter saw our volunteers unfolding beds, preparing hot food and greeting people arriving off the streets. Our trustee Jo Kember explained: “It’s not just shelter — we want to bolster their self-esteem and self-respect.” Our CEO Andrew Mills added: “When people come here, it’s to stop them from literally freezing to death on the streets.”
That night, 12 people used the shelter. The freeze lifted the next day — but the need did not.
Seeing the Bigger Picture
It’s easy to think rough sleeping is only about personal struggle — addiction, trauma, mental health. But when you look at the wider picture in Blackpool, it becomes clear this is also about structural inequality.
According to the 2025 Index of Multiple Deprivation, Blackpool is ranked 1st out of all lower-tier local authorities in England — officially the most deprived area in the country.
It ranks:
1st for overall deprivation
1st for health deprivation and disability
1st for employment deprivation
2nd for crime deprivation
Within the top 10 most deprived areas for income and education
These rankings reflect the environment many of our guests return to each morning. They reflect low wages, insecure employment, health inequalities and limited affordable housing.
Housing in Blackpool vs England
Housing pressures are a significant part of this story.
In Blackpool, around 90% of homes are in the private sector, compared with approximately 83% across England. That means far more households here depend on a private rental market that continues to rise in cost.
At the same time, only around 3% of homes locally are housing association properties, compared with over 10% nationally. That gap represents thousands of more secure and affordable homes that simply do not exist here.
Last year, despite new homes being added, no new social rent homes were delivered — the tenure that provides the greatest stability for people on the lowest incomes.
When you combine:
Heavy reliance on private renting
Limited housing association stock
No growth in social rent
England’s highest deprivation ranking
you begin to see why housing insecurity is such a persistent issue locally.
The Human Cost on Health
In Blackpool South, long-term health conditions are significantly more common than across England.
Depression affects far more people locally than the national average.
Respiratory illnesses such as COPD are substantially higher.
Heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions are more prevalent.
Housing instability worsens these challenges.
Living in damp, mould-affected homes impacts breathing.
Frequent moves increase anxiety and depression.
Stress from unaffordable rent affects physical and mental well-being.
Housing is health. Stability is health. Community is health.
Right in the Heart of It
Helping Hearts Community Hub is located exactly where it needs to be — in the heart of the community facing the greatest hardship.
We are not positioned on the margins.
We are not distant from reality.
We are embedded within it.
Being based in the most deprived local authority area in England means:
People can reach us easily.
Those in crisis do not need bus fares or long journeys.
We are visible, accessible and part of the neighbourhood.
Support is offered where it is most needed.
When someone leaves our SWEP shelter in the morning, they are stepping back into one of the most deprived areas in the country. That reality is why our work cannot stop at providing a warm bed.
It is why we offer continued support.
It is why we build relationships.
It is why community matters so deeply.
Why This Strengthens Our Mission
The data on housing, health and deprivation does not discourage us. It clarifies our purpose.
Blackpool:
Relies heavily on private rented housing.
Has far fewer housing association homes than the national average.
Faces significantly worse health outcomes than England overall.
Ranks as the most deprived local authority in the country.
That is exactly why Helping Hearts Fylde exists.
We are here because the need is real.
We are here because the statistics represent neighbours.
We are here because compassion must sit at the centre of hardship, not outside it.
Our hub stands in the middle of deprivation — not as a symbol of it, but as a response to it.
And when SWEP is activated by Blackpool Council, and our volunteers open the doors once again, we are reminded:
Even in the most deprived area in England,
community is stronger than circumstance.
And in Blackpool, no one should have to face the cold alone.
🔎 Sources
ITV Granada Reports: Blackpool’s rough sleeping challenge — warm beds and rising numbers (27 Feb 2026).
UK Commons Library Housing Data — Local Authority Housing Stock & Supply (Blackpool UA vs England).
UK Commons Library Health Data — Blackpool South long-term health condition prevalence.
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government: Index of Multiple Deprivation 2025 — Local Authority District Summary (Rank of Average Rank).
