Rough sleepers helped in winter return to streets

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Communities and also in Housing, Local Government

One in four people who sought shelter in cold weather last winter returned to the streets, research has shown.

The analysis by Homeless Link - the umbrella body for homeless charities - shows that almost half of those who are helped by cold weather services in their community during the winter are known rough sleepers.

Now Homeless Link is urging every community to provide specialist services during the winter months to ensure that no one has to sleep out in freezing temperatures and put their lives at risk.

The body got 101 responses to a survey of the UK's local authorities. It was discovered that emergency cold weather support was provided to 2038 people during winter 2011.

Of the 2038, 34% had no previous contact with services. 737 who were helped during the cold weather successfully moved on to other services or into accommodation. However, 25% who left cold weather provision went back to the streets.

Homeless Link is recommending that local authorities now drop rules that insist that rough sleepers must have a local connection before they can be helped, a move that it says "could save lives". It also backs offering cold weather provision throughout the winter. Some services only open for a few days and sporadically when the weather is at its worst.

Rick Henderson, Chief Executive of Homeless Link, said:  “Providing cold weather provision can be challenging, but it is also an opportunity that should not be wasted. Many of the individuals who seek help in the winter have never had any contact with services. So if a service offers emergency shelter to someone who has been sleeping rough, that is an opportunity to find out what that person’s needs are and provide access to support to get them off the streets for good.
 
“We know that cold weather provision has improved in recent years but we can go even further. Getting it right now could save lives. It could also save local services time and money in the long run. We know that many services are working closely to ensure that no one is left out this winter, together we need to recognise this as a chance to connect people who are homeless to local services.”