According to recent figures, numbers of homeless people in Bradford have risen by 80 per cent over 12 months.

In 2010/11, 166 people in Bradford were made “unintentionally homeless” – due to events outside their control – compared to 92 people the year before.

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council’s executive member with responsibility for housing, warned that homelessness would get worse when changes to housing benefit are introduced.

“That will put a great strain on finances of quite a number of vulnerable people,” she said. “I think the increases we are seeing – not just in Bradford, but across the country – are a direct reflection of national policies on welfare and the state of the economy.”

Of the 166 cases dealt with by Bradford Council in 2010/11, up to 16 had mental or physical disabilities, eight were victims of domestic violence and 129 were households with children.

Adam Clark, project co-ordinator at Bradford-based Hope Housing, which helps to house homeless people, says homelessness is affecting wider sections of society.

“Our figures show that increasing year-on-year we’re busier. We’re dealing with a range of people, including some who have lost their mortgages – it’s beginning to affect people on a much wider scale. We haven’t seen the full force of benefit changes yet. We expect the situation to get a lot worse.”

The Freedom of Information figures show that 23 people slept rough in Bradford last December.

Homeless charities put the numbers a lot higher. Last year, the Telegraph & Argus reported that there could be hundreds of ‘invisible’ homeless people sleeping rough in the city.

This year’s rough-sleepers count takes place in Bradford next month, and Hope Housing is one of the organisations involved.

“A count is always just an estimate. You can’t say whether it will ever be accurate because there’s so much hidden homelessness,” said charity spokesman Adam Clark. “Previously, someone had to be seen to be bedding down to be classed as a rough sleeper – they couldn’t be counted even if they were standing up next to a sleeping-bag – but the guidelines have changed since the Coalition came in, so numbers are increasing.”

Hope Housing is working with housing and other service providers, the Council, businesses and volunteers to tackle the rise in homelessness.

“It’s a complex problem and I wish I could come up with a magic solution. One of the ways forward is strategic work involving different organisations coming together offering different types of services,” said Adam.

“Hostels aren’t the answer for everyone; we’d like more private landlords to be receptive of homeless people’s needs and waive bonds.”

A third of Hope Housing’s clients are Eastern European migrants living in squats, derelict mills and outbuildings.

Ken Leach is a volunteer at Bradford Day Shelter, which provides daily meals for the homeless and helps them towards employment, education and accommodation.

There are now three language interpretors at the Edmund Street shelter, near the city centre, to help with rising numbers of Eastern Europeans.

“They come with promises of work that don’t get fulfilled,” said Ken. “I was involved in the rough-sleepers count and I knew it wasn’t accurate, but trying to get an accurate figure is difficult. Homeless people don’t just sleep on the streets – they’re in places like derelict houses, bin shutes in blocks of flats and covered skips.”

Lashman Singh, founder of Bradford Curry Project which serves up hot meals for the homeless, says official figures only scratch the surface.

“They can’t cover every nook and cranny. It’s not just a case of counting people on the street – what about those sleeping on a friend’s floor or in squats or derelict factories? How do you define homelessness? I don’t think we really know the extent of the true figures,” he said.

“Most people who use the Curry Project are what we’d call homeless, but some live in very poor accommodation and don’t have cooking facilities or can’t afford food.

“The situation will get worse. These are hard times for a lot of people, and changes to benefits will have a huge impact.”