Interview: Thames Reach volunteer discusses supporting our essential services

We speak with one of our new volunteers about her essential work supporting Thames Reach teams during the pandemic

Interview: Thames Reach volunteer discusses supporting our essential services

Volunteers are an integral part of Thames Reach’s work with the communities and individuals that need us most. We recruit volunteers year-round but during lockdown, their work allows services to keep running, and ensures that the most vulnerable people continue to feel supported. We spoke with Eleanor Wyld, who is volunteering with the Tenancy Sustainment Team. She found that she had many transferable skills and wanted to use them to help those in need in her community…

When did you start volunteering with Thames Reach, and how did you hear about us?

I joined a local WhatsApp group when the lockdown came into place, as I think a lot of people did. As a young-ish, healthy woman who had gone from full-time employment to having a lot of time on my hands I wanted to be of use. Plus I wanted to be able to help out in my local area. One of the people in the group asked if anyone wanted to volunteer for Thames Reach and I put my name forward. I sent my interest and experience in an email, had a phone interview and before long I was calling clients to find out how they were and if they had been affected badly by Covid, or if they needed any extra help from Thames Reach.

Why did you want to volunteer with us?

I had walked past the Thames Reach offices often but didn’t know what services they offered. When the lockdown came into effect I wanted to use my skills in the local area to help vulnerable people. Once I looked into the organisation online I realised I had something to offer.

What is the average day of volunteering day like? 

I’ve been mainly doing half days here and there. Because of social distancing measures, staff in the offices are having to work on rotation in order to upkeep the 2m distance rule. I have had an isolated desk where I can call clients and reach out to the clients that support workers are finding hard to contact. Because there is a lot of work to be done since Covid-19 in regards to benefits and healthcare support, I have been given clients to call who although may be lower risk, could still be suffering due to the current climate. I ask them how they are coping, if they have any symptoms and check in with their mental health. I ask if we can do anything to help them in regards to food, electricity, benefits and make notes to pass on to full time staff who are swamped with work at the moment. Mainly I’m just someone to talk to. A lot of the clients that the Tenancy Support Team work with live extremely isolated lives. This has been exacerbated by the lockdown so I’m able to listen to their concerns and anxieties and am sure to make notes and follow up any issues with their designated support worker.

I have also been able to help with sorting paperwork and admin that the key workers don’t have the time to sort out during this stressful time.

How has your usual job helped with your volunteering?

I’m an actress and writer and I work in a bookshop part-time. I am used to working with people and I’m interested in people’s stories. I have worked with The Big House Theatre Company and Only Connect in the past, both charities that work with clients through theatre. What I helped with at Thames Reach felt more front-line and as if I was communicating with people who needed help or a kind word, right now.

What have you learned and what is the most rewarding part of the experience?

I have learned a little bit about how Thames Reach and TST works. I have learned how the lockdown is affecting the most vulnerable and have been able to feel useful in regards to helping people get food vouchers or sort out their benefits in this new climate, or just talk to someone about how they are going to cope now that they have lost their job. Cheering someone up on the phone, allowing them to feel listened to and putting them at ease has been the most rewarding thing.

If Eleanor’s conversation has inspired you, have a chat with us about current opportunities that can suit your time availability and skills: volunteers@thamesreach.org.uk

Featured image is another of our fantastic volunteers.

How are our different services adapting to the crisis?

How staff are coping, adapting and working together to help the most vulnerable during COVID-19

How are our different services adapting to the crisis?

While the pandemic has meant big changes in the way we all live and work, we still need to provide essential services to the people we work with, who are particularly affected.  Adapting and working collaboratively has been crucial in ensuring that not only is no one left behind to sleep rough, but the people who rely on us continue to receive the appropriate support. We spoke with three members of staff about how services have changed and about how they are coping at this time:

Matthew Davison is Lead Manager for TST (Tenancy Sustainment Team) South:

“We’re still operating a near-normal service from our office and across the community; we are still very much available for urgent and non-urgent queries and don’t want any of the people we work with to feel that they have been left alone at this difficult time. Social distancing is respected during any face-to-face contact, which is being prioritised for those in need of urgent support, which can mean a variety of things, whether this is having no income or health, legal or safeguarding issues. For non-urgent support, we are regularly checking in with clients over the phone. Welcome Sessions for new nominated clients are also being held over the phone as much as possible, and in some circumstances we are helping clients move into new properties.

The team are facing challenges, mostly with the reality of having to social-distance themselves. For example, due to the nature of some types of medication, some clients have had no option but to go to pharmacies in person to collect their prescriptions. There has also been a lack of clarity around whether clients have been, or should be, identified by the NHS as being in the high-risk ‘Shielding’ category. These have been dealt with very much on a case-by-case basis and we have been working together to put the needs of our clients first.”

Sarah Jeeves is our Learning & Development Officer. Alongside her work in the Central Services team, she has been providing support in one of our hostels.

“In terms of HR, it’s been a lot busier since the lockdown; on top of our day-to-day work we’ve been updating policies and processes, especially around sickness and working from home. There have been lots more enquiries and staff asking for advice, which is changing and updating as we go. Some of the team are working remotely so we’ve been having Microsoft Teams meetings, WhatsApp video meetings… it’s changing but we’re adapting to it well so far.

I started thinking about volunteering at the hostel after realising that many staff members would be self-isolating or shielding. Working in HR, I knew first-hand that the staffing shortages would be affecting our most essential services, and when I began coordinating our volunteers, I decided to wonder how I could make my work go further. The main differences between my normal work and working in our hostels is how you start to perceive things and organise your day differently. Whereas in HR there are systems and schedules, working with people with a range of needs means you need to be prepared to be more spontaneous and proactive.

The benefits to both the hostel and myself have been pretty clear, for example I imagine it was a relief to have someone who knows Thames Reach well and already works here providing support where necessary. Seeing our work in the hostels has allowed me to see how I might do my normal job differently; I organise our training schedules so I can see where Managers might need training in different areas. My confidence has definitely grown here, and I feel capable to do the work whether it is based in an office or hostel. I also have a background in mental health so I’m confident in how to approach certain situations. As I’m managing the volunteers, I know exactly where the gaps are in our essential services and am always happy to talk to staff, and members of the public, about how they might want to volunteer their time and skills during this difficult time.”

Jakub Turek is Senior Practitioner for the Rapid Response Team.

“In the current situation a lot of services have been temporarily closed or have limited access. For us in the Rapid Response Team it means we have to work harder and build stronger relationships with local authorities to ensure our clients are supported during this hard time which affects everybody.

We have been working closely with other Outreach services like never before. The solidarity in the homelessness sector in London has been really encouraging.

Our service has been delivered with no disturbance apart from receiving a much higher number of Street Link referrals. We have been responding to referrals every night 7 days a week. Our team have been working really hard to ensure all referrals are visited and clients are placed somewhere safe.”

COVID-19: homeless and vulnerable people need your help during this crisis

We need your support during the COVID-19 crisis to make sure those we’ve helped off the streets are able to escape homelessness for good

COVID-19: homeless and vulnerable people need your help during this crisis

During the coronavirus crisis, Thames Reach outreach teams have been helping people experiencing homelessness and precarious living conditions to escape the streets and find accommodation where they can be socially distant, protect themselves, and help prevent the spread of the virus. We have worked as part of the Government’s coordinated response to the pandemic, known as Everyone In, which has helped thousands of people move into temporary accommodation since the lockdown began.

Now, we’re working hard to making sure that the people we’ve helped during this period are able to move on into secure, long term accommodation and escape homelessness for good. This means not only providing decent homes, but also helping people to gain access to better health care and developing long term employment prospects as they seek to make a better life for themselves in the challenging environment this virus will leave in its wake.

The pandemic remains with us right now, though, and its social and economic fallout is already creating huge challenges for homelessness charities across the country. Our services have been running and adapting throughout this crisis, but we still need your help to make sure that the vulnerable people protected from the virus during lockdown don’t fall back into a life on the street. Your support could help provide a starter kit for a new home, or provide training and work opportunities to help people maintain their independence. It could also help support people with drug and alcohol issues, or assist vulnerable people with mental health needs living alone in the community.

Support us today

Please support our mission to help homeless and vulnerable people find decent homes, build supportive relationships and lead fulfilling lives, ensuring that no one is left behind at a time when rough sleeping is more dangerous than ever.  

Emergency accommodation given to vulnerable people at Heathrow Airport

Thames Reach’s multi-agency work supporting people rough sleeping in Heathrow has proved a success in recent days

Emergency accommodation given to vulnerable people at Heathrow Airport

Thames Reach have been providing outreach services at Heathrow Airport for several years, and recently with increased measures needed to ensure people who are rough sleeping are kept safe and able to self-isolate during COVID-19, we have been working on-site to find temporary accommodation for people sleeping rough in Heathrow Terminals 2-5 as well as the bus station. This has been a collaborative effort between Thames Reach and partner organisations including Heathrow Travelcare, social services and local authorities. Starting early on Wednesday 1 April, we have seen a real commitment to ensuring people who have been rough sleeping are cared for sensitively and effectively. Over three days, this impressive operation has seen a limited number of staff working in a complicated environment with a range of needs catered to, including complex needs, resulting in over 160 people being successfully given accommodation in this short space of time, an unprecedented effort.

Accommodation setups vary from hotel rooms, including some at the Thames Reach-run hotel in south-west London, to self-contained flats for those with COVID-19 symptoms, and extra provisions for people with pets. These are safe, positive spaces where individuals are able to spend time in clean, contained settings with food provided, in order to protect their immune systems from the risk of the virus.

Hotels are based in local authorities across the city, from Wandsworth to Ilford via the City, which are being staffed by various providers including Thames Reach. This is a thoroughly collaborative project, and we are working with organisations including St Mungo’s and Look Ahead to ensure the needs of each individual are met.

Having worked day and night at Heathrow, we are incredibly relieved to have been able to accommodate such a large number of people off the streets but our work is not done. We will be liaising with central and local government as well as our partners to ensure that those we have managed to temporarily re-house are not left behind once the quarantine is lifted.

Getting people into accommodation is a first step, but we need to make sure that we are able to help them take the next step away from homelessness and into stable and suitable accommodation.  This story will progress and we will be releasing updates accordingly.

Homelessness sector outlines needs in open letter to the Prime Minister

Thames Reach co-sign letter to the Prime Minister alongside other providers in the homelessness sector outlining the next steps to ensure that the most vulnerable are kept safe during the COVID-19 pandemic

Homelessness sector outlines needs in open letter to the Prime Minister

On Thursday 2nd April, Thames Reach Chief Executive Bill Tidnam co-signed a letter to the Prime Minister on behalf of several organisations in the homelessness sector. The letter is a statement of gratitude to the collective push to ensure no one is left sleeping rough, with a new call for support to ensure teams are able to do this safely and effectively.

 

The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson

MP Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

London

SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister,

I hope that you are recovering well. Following on from our previous letter, I want to thank you and your team for the swift action that has been taken to help protect the most vulnerable people in our society in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. People experiencing homelessness, particularly those who are rough sleeping, are most exposed to the risks of the virus, not only because they do not have a safe home to self-isolate or follow sanitation guidance, but because they are three times more likely to experience a chronic health problem including respiratory conditions.

In particular, I want to express my gratitude for the coordination of the “Everyone In’ hotel and emergency accommodation operation led by Dame Louise Casey and the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government to house all rough sleepers. This will undoubtedly save lives. Measures taken by the Government to boost the welfare system and protect renters from evictions will also help ensure that the pressures built up by the pandemic do not result in people being forced into homelessness.

There are however, a number of remaining barriers to the government achieving its ambition and while there continues to be far too many people still on our streets or in dangerous congregate accommodation this remains a public health emergency and a race against time. I have enclosed a fuller note on the measures required. These include, most essentially, assistance from national government to temporarily remove the legal barriers that exist to people receiving homelessness assistance, a dedicated funding stream for local authorities to secure accommodation and provide the ongoing support to people so that they can remain there, Covid-care and PPE for staff working in frontline homelessness services and local funding to assist people who are struggling to pay their rent.

Finally, we stand ready to assist the government in planning for an end to the hotel arrangements that sees all individuals provided with housing and support and helps meet the Government’s commitment to end rough sleeping for good in this country.

Yours sincerely,

Jon Sparkes, Crisis

Rich Henderson, Homeless Link

Mick Clarke, The Passage

Pam Orchard, Connection at St Martin’s

Steven Platts, Groundswell

Bill Tidnam, Thames Reach

cc. Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP, Rt Therese Coffey MP, Rt Hon, Priti Patel MP

COVID-19: Updates

What we’re doing to support homeless and vulnerable people during the COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19: Updates

7 July 2020

Along with forty other homelessness organisations across the UK, our Chief Executive Bill Tidnam has signed an open letter to the Prime Minister on behalf of Thames Reach, calling on extra commitment to ensuring that those helped by the ‘Everyone In’ initiative are still supported after lockdown is lifted. The letter outlines that, whilst the £105million pool of funding recently announced by the government will help, there are other barriers unique to this situation which must be addressed. Read the full letter here.

2 July 2020

As part of the recovery from the effects of Covid, Thames Reach are supporting people who have been temporarily accommodated in hotels across London to take the next step into stable accommodation.

Our newly established team, PSL (Private Sector Leasing), will sit within our floating support services working with people to start their tenancy well and support their wellbeing going forward. Thames Reach have the highest aspirations for those we work with, and the team will provide personalised support to help people realise their goals, ensuring that those accommodated by the ‘Everyone In’ initiative are suitably supported.

The PSL team are hiring now, across Support Worker, Senior Practitioner and Lead Manager roles. More information can be found here.

 

24 June 2020

Thames Reach welcome the government’s new £105million pool of funding to further support those who moved into the hotel system during the pandemic. We have been running hotels during this time, which are now closing due to our teams’ successful efforts in helping people move on, mainly into housing in the private rented sector; these individuals are now receiving support to ensure that they do not return to the streets.

This additional funding will help Thames Reach to continue this work of helping vulnerable and homeless people into secure, long-term accommodation. We acknowledge that this group has a range of needs; while some people currently in hotels will need access to long term supported accommodation, many will need help finding employment and getting a regular income as the key step towards finding their own housing.  We will continue to help people make these important steps which have the potential to give them the stability they need to move away from homelessness. 

Beyond people currently accommodated in hotels, we need to recognise that we are seeing increased numbers of new rough sleepers on to the streets, and that central government, local authorities and charities need to be able to respond quickly and effectively to prevent these people becoming part of a long-term homeless population.

17 June 2020

The ‘Everyone In’ project brought over 90% of the people known to be rough sleeping or accommodated in unsuitable shelter accommodation into hotels during quarantine, but now as the scheme is coming to a close, our focus is moving to ensuring that people have access to secure accommodation, and the support they need to sustain it. 

Thames Reach are helping people move on so that no one is left to go back to the streets. Our hotel for asymptomatic people in Westminster has now closed and there is a dedicated team providing support in moving people to new accommodation. The majority of residents in our hotel have been moved on, many to the private rented sector, and three have been relocated to another of the hotels while they receive further support they need to move on. Our Tenancy Sustainment Team will be expanding to ensure that we are able to provide support after the point of being settled into accommodation. More on the expansion of this service will be announced soon.

1 June 2020

Yesterday’s press briefing from central government included Dame Louise Casey, head of the Covid Rough Sleeping Taskforce. She said a few words about how the action is moving forward. She said that the ‘Everyone In’ initiative has been incredibly successful, having temporarily re-housed 15,000 people across England, allowing them to self-isolate and ultimately saving their lives in a pandemic. ‘Everyone In’ was a public health response to the crisis and a compassionate one. It has been an extraordinary response and highly collaborative, and Dame Louise thanked all agencies who have contributed to the process; we now must take this further and change lives for good.

Thames Reach are now working with the residents of the hotels and are securing move-on options for those without secure accommodation, to ensure no one is put back on the streets. More information to come soon. 

26 May 2020

Today saw central government announce a £433million investment for 6,000 homes for rough sleepers. Our Chief Executive, Bill Tidnam, says: “We welcome the investment in accommodation and crucially support for rough sleepers.  The challenge is now to mobilise this fast, to let people get out of hotels and move on with their lives.  We also need to make sure that we are able to use established approaches to continue to respond quickly and appropriately to people who are new to the streets before their homelessness becomes a way of life.”

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government press release: ‘6,000 new supported homes as part of landmark commitment to end rough sleeping’ 

11 May 2020

As part of the response to the current pandemic we have opened a ‘Covid care’ hotel in Newham.  Working with staff from UCL hospital and MSF, the hotel provides temporary accommodation for those who have contracted the disease, after which they return to the hotel or hostel where they were staying.  This replaces the hotel in Westminster, which is now a ‘Covid protect’ scheme. Médicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) have put together a short video explaining the work that is being done at the Covid Care Hotel.

 
We have begun to work with people housed in hostels and other temporary accommodation by the Greater London Authority and local authorities, with the aim of this work being to conduct assessments with a view to identifying future accommodation options.  It’s worth noting that a very significant proportion of this group do not have a settled status, and unless this is resolved it is likely to be a significant barrier to future options. We will be outlining our issues and concerns for homeless and vulnerable people during the transition period in a statement to be released later in the process. 
 

5 April 2020

Thames Reach have been working with several agencies and partners to provide people sleeping rough at Heathrow Airport with a clean room and all meals to allow them to self-isolate effectively, in line with city-wide efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind during the pandemic. We are incredibly proud of the work of our team as well as those from other organisations in what was a successful project. Support will now continue between the various organisations involved. Read the full story here

2 April 2020

Alongside many other of the UK’s providers in the homelessness sector, Thames Reach have co-signed an open letter to the Prime Minister expressing gratitude for the responses of local and central government in allowing us to provide temporary accommodation to people sleeping rough. However we have also clarified our needs going forward to help the most vulnerable groups. The letter is available to read here

30 March 2020

We are working with our partners, local authorities and other services to ensure that no one is left rough sleeping during these times of a global pandemic.

Thames Reach are working closely with our partners including local authorities, the Greater London Authority and Heathrow in order to get people who are rough sleeping in Heathrow into single room accommodation where they can follow government guidelines on self-isolation and social distancing.  Given the numbers of people involved this is a complex task, requiring us not only to obtain suitable accommodation, but also provide appropriate help as well as food and other services.   Other types of ‘shelter’ accommodation which involve high levels of sharing are not suitable in the current pandemic.

 Currently, anyone worried about someone rough sleeping is urged to contact Street Link, who will allow our teams to locate anyone in need of support. Anyone homeless or rough sleeping can contact the local authority (either independently or with the help of a support worker) and as hotel spaces suitable for self-isolation become available, which will be quicker than normal, they will be accommodated. We are continuing to provide outreach support 365 days a year. Provisions in hotels are being confirmed and progress is being made daily in order to make self-isolation possible. The pre-existing requirement of a local connection to a particular borough before receiving help has been lifted at this time.

 

 

27 March 2020

Last week, the government appointed Dame Louise Casey to lead its strategy on ensuring people experiencing rough sleeping are supported during the spread of COVID-19. At Thames Reach, we welcome the development of this strategy to protect the health of homeless people and the broader population. We are working as hard as we can to maintain essential services, such as outreach, hostels, supported housing and remote tenancy support. In addition, we are working with the Greater London Authority and local authorities to provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness, with hotel spaces allocated for those showing COVID-19 symptoms.

The basic principles of the strategy are to:

– focus on people who are, or are at risk of, sleeping rough, and those who are in accommodation where it is difficult to self-isolate, such as shelters and assessment centres

– make sure that these people have access to the facilities that enable them to adhere to public health guidance on hygiene or isolation, ideally single room facilities

– utilise alternative powers and funding to assist those with no recourse to public funds who require shelter and other forms of support due to the COVID-19 pandemic

– mitigate their own risk of infection, and transmission to others, by ensuring they are able to self-isolate as appropriate in line with public health guidance.

We will continue to update this page with news as the crisis develops.    

 

 

26 March 2020

During the coronavirus pandemic, vulnerable people and those experiencing street homelessness are even more at risk of health complications and require increased levels of support. At Thames Reach, we are prioritising our essential services, as well as working with our partners on developing new emergency services, so that we can continue to effectively support vulnerable people and safeguard their health. Rough sleeping can have a devastating impact on mental and physical health, and many people living on the street have serious underlying health conditions, and so during this period, when most of the population is being asked to stay at home, it is absolutely essential that we are able to provide people without a home of their own a place where they can safely self-isolate and receive the support that they need.

In order to meet these needs, we are working with the Greater London Authority and other local authorities and have a team coordinating rooms in a hotel in south-west London where homeless people who are showing symptoms of COVID-19 can self-isolate, whether they are street homeless or in a night shelter.

There is a rota of morning, late and night shifts covering the hotel. We are recruiting new staff to help with this urgent project, and in some cases staff are being re-deployed from other services to assist.

We are working with an on-site team of nurses and doctors to check on those self-isolating. The healthcare team decide when people can be discharged and leave. We welcome them, show them their rooms and provide them with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. For this element we are seeking partnerships with food outlets to help supply the large volume of extra food required. All this care is undertaken with full personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, and PPE is given to the client as they arrive. Contact with guests and clients is mainly via phone and food is left for them at their doors. We are looking at expanding this service as the situation develops, as we are currently at a capacity for 32 people but will need to grow with demand.

As this is a large undertaking, Thames Reach are recruiting new staff, volunteers and seeking new partnerships to assist with food and PPE supplies during this unprecedented time. If you would like to help us keep the most vulnerable safe with your time or resources, please do get in touch at: enquiries@thamesreach.org.uk    

 

 

18 March 2020

At Thames Reach, we are closely monitoring developments relating to the spread of COVID-19 in order to best ensure the health and wellbeing of the homeless and vulnerable people we work with, as well as of our staff, volunteers, and the wider public. We are following advice issued by Public Health England and continuing conversations with commissioners, local providers, and health services so we can use the resources we have wisely, and to ensure that we are able to respond to this rapidly changing situation.

Our outreach teams work 365 days of the year, and we continue to go out to find people who are sleeping rough, offering them the support they need to get off the streets. These teams are advised to follow guidance provided by Public Health England with regard to people sleeping rough who are displaying coronavirus symptoms, and we are calling upon local authorities to provide environments where individuals can safely and securely self-isolate.

On behalf of Thames Reach, our Chief Executive, Bill Tidnam, has co-signed a letter to the government, along with senior figures from across the homelessness sector, outlining a set of measures that we believe will help protect homeless and vulnerable people during this ongoing crisis. This outline includes the request that homeless people should be allocated self-contained accommodation with sufficient resources with which to self-isolate. People who are rough sleeping are three times more likely to suffer with chronic illnesses including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and so must be supported as a matter of urgency.

The open letter can be read here, which we have signed with Crisis, Homeless Link, St Mungo’s, Centrepoint, The Passage, Groundswell, Shelter Cymru, Homeless Network Scotland and Connection at St Martin’s.

Thank you for your ongoing support during this challenging time.

 

A statement on COVID-19

A statement from Thames Reach on COVID-19 and our current response to the situation, as well as an open letter to the government, co-signed by Chief Executive Bill Tidnam

A statement on COVID-19

18 March 2020

At Thames Reach, we are closely monitoring developments relating to the spread of COVID-19 in order to best ensure the health and wellbeing of the homeless and vulnerable people we work with, as well as of our staff, volunteers, and the wider public. We are following advice issued by Public Health England and continuing conversations with commissioners, local providers, and health services so we can use the resources we have wisely, and to ensure that we are able to respond to this rapidly changing situation.

Our outreach teams work 365 days of the year, and we continue to go out to find people who are sleeping rough, offering them the support they need to get off the streets. These teams are advised to follow guidance provided by Public Health England with regard to people sleeping rough who are displaying coronavirus symptoms, and we are calling upon local authorities to provide environments where individuals can safely and securely self-isolate.

On behalf of Thames Reach, our Chief Executive, Bill Tidnam, has co-signed a letter to the government, along with senior figures from across the homelessness sector, outlining a set of measures that we believe will help protect homeless and vulnerable people during this ongoing crisis. This outline includes the request that homeless people should be allocated self-contained accommodation with sufficient resources with which to self-isolate. People who are rough sleeping are three times more likely to suffer with chronic illnesses including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and so must be supported as a matter of urgency.

The open letter can be read below, which we have signed with Crisis, Homeless Link, St Mungo’s, Centrepoint, The Passage, Groundswell, Shelter Cymru, Homeless Network Scotland and Connection at St Martin’s.

Thank you for your ongoing support during this challenging time.

 

 

Dear Prime Minister, 

As Chief Executives of leading homelessness charities, we appreciate the significant pressure the Government is facing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and stand ready to lend our support as you set out plans to help protect the most vulnerable in our society, including people who are facing homelessness. 

People experiencing homelessness, particularly those who are rough sleeping, are especially vulnerable in this outbreak. They are three times more likely to experience a chronic health condition including asthma and COPD. It is therefore vital that they are recognised as a vulnerable group for the purposes of government planning. 

We note the publication of Public Health England’s information on COVID-19 for hostel or day centre providers of services for people experiencing rough sleeping. We are concerned that these measures however, fail to provide the much more comprehensive plan and wide-ranging action needed to ensure that everyone facing homelessness is provided with self-contained accommodation, to ensure that they can self-isolate, and that people experiencing financial hardship are not left facing homelessness as a result of the impact of COVID-19. 

Please find enclosed a full set of measures that we believe will help ensure people facing homelessness are protected during this period. 

As a matter of urgency, we are calling on governments to set out a plan, which will include detail on: 

• Assistance from the Government to secure hotel style accommodation to meet the increased need for self-contained accommodation so that people can self-isolate. 

• The removal of legal barriers in the homelessness legislation so that anyone who is at risk of, or is already homeless, can access self-contained accommodation. This should also include a suspension of rules that prevent people with no recourse to public funds from accessing housing and homelessness assistance. 

 • The provision of additional financial support through the Universal Credit system to ensure that people are not pushed into homelessness. 

• Protecting renters from evictions by temporarily suspending the use of Section 21 and Section 8 evictions. 

• Increasing the fund for Discretionary Housing Payments to help renters facing homelessness. 

• Measures to ensure that people sleeping rough and living in hostels and shelter accommodation have rapid access to testing for the virus and healthcare assistance. 

• An assurance that frontline workers in homelessness organisations are recognised as an emergency service as part of the response to COVID-19. 

• A ringfenced proportion of the £5bn fund announced in the Budget last week to fight COVID-19 for local authorities to help deliver these measures. 

In light of the speed of recent developments, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss with you and your officials as a matter of urgency how we can help to deliver this plan.  

Yours sincerely, 

Jon Sparkes, Crisis 

Rick Henderson, Homeless Link 

Howard Sinclair, St Mungo’s 

Seyi Obakin, Centrepoint 

Mick Clarke, The Passage 

Steven Platts, Groundswell 

John Puzey, Shelter Cymru 

Margaret-Ann Brünjes, Homeless Network Scotland

 Pam Orchard, Connection at St Martin’s 

Bill Tidnam, Thames Reach 

cc. Rt. Hon. Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Rt Hon. Mark Drakeford AM, Rt Hon. Matt Hancock MP