Bow schoolgirls make shocking film about overcrowding for Shelter

A group of teenage girls from an East End school have made a film about the difficulties of living in overcrowded homes for a leading homelessness charity.

The 14 to 15-year-old pupils, from Central Foundation Girls School in Bow, were helping to highlight Shelter’s research that one in four London children are living in unbearably cramped conditions.

One of the girls in the group spoke about how she has to share a room with her parents and her younger sister.

Shelter’s short film, ‘A Question for Mr. Johnson’, calls on the Mayor of London to take more action over the housing crisis.

Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said overcrowding is doing “lasting damage to children’s education and wellbeing”.

In 2009, the mayor set a target to halve severe overcrowding in the capital by 2016. But Shelter is warning that when the changes to housing benefits kick in the target will become harder to reach.