Bank repossessions and unemployment have fueled a 14% increase in the United Kingdom's homeless population, bringing the total number of homeless families to 48,510, including 69,460 homeless children.

Many of these people are sleeping on the streets of London, taking their chances with crime and bad weather. Homeless activist Leslie Morphy says it doesn't help that the government is cutting housing benefits at the same time that local communities are reducing services to the homeless.

Tell the United Kingdom to create housing for the homeless, work with banks to keep people in their homes, and restore nationwide services that protect people from ending up on the streets!

We the undersigned ask that you take seriously the alarming increase in your nation's homeless population. Worldwide, countries like yours are suffering from economic downturns, but that is no reason to abandon the hardest hit victims of unemployment and foreclosures. The way a society protects or fails to protect its most unfortunate members is an index of its collective character. You are failing that test. Create affordable housing and work with banks to keep people in their homes.