Thames Reach have signed a letter to the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government requesting the expansion of the Protect programme based on the principles of Everyone In, as well as ensuring that frontline workers and vulnerable people in emergency accommodation are prioritised for the vaccine(s). Other organisations working in homelessness have also signed the letter: Crisis, Homeless Link, St Mungo’s, Housing Justice, Groundswell, The Passage, Pathway and Faculty for Homeless and Inclusion Health.

New variant SARS-CoV-2: why we must act to protect the lives of people facing homelessness.

As organisations working with people facing homelessness, and delivery partners of the government’s Everyone In scheme, we are calling on the Westminster Government to work with us to urgently sanction the next phase of Everyone In to protect people most exposed to coronavirus.

People facing homelessness are extremely vulnerable to severe health outcomes and mortality from Covid-19. With the discovery of the new SARS-CoV-2 variant, which is believed to be more than 50% more transmissible, there is projected to be a large and rapid increase in incidence with levels of hospitalisations and deaths in 2021 expected to be higher than in 2020.

Current Tier 4 measures put in place to protect people from the new variant are due to be expanded in the new year. These measures, while necessary, are extremely challenging and in some instances impossible to follow whilst homeless including in congregate settings that have shared facilities. For a time-limited period until high levels of vaccine uptake has been achieved, we would like to work with the government to realise:

1. Expansion of the Protect Programme based on the life-saving principles of Everyone In, and including a commitment that no one returns to the streets
2. Ensuring that people who are homeless in emergency accommodation, and frontline staff, are prioriitised for the COID-19 vaccine(s). 

Expanding the Protect Programme based on Everyone In principles

Through the extraordinary efforts of national and local government, nearly 30,000 people have been supported to move into emergency and other forms of accommodation since the start of the pandemic. In London, where the most robust data is available, London Councils reported that on May 4^th there were 3,630 people in emergency accommodation.

 This bold and world-leading action saved lives and relieved pressure on the NHS at a critical time. A recent study published by the Lancet showed that because of this response 266 deaths were avoided during the first wave of the pandemic among England’s homeless population, as well as 21,092 infections, 1,164 hospital admissions and 338 admissions to Intensive Care Units.[1]

 However, as the pressures of the coronavirus pandemic on people’s jobs and lives remain, many continue to be pushed into homelessness as the pressure becomes too much. From July to September 2020 in London, data shows 1,901 people were seen sleeping rough for the first time, which is 55% of the total number of people seen sleeping rough in this period (3,444 people).[2]

While government funding and initiatives have continued to support people sleeping rough, or at risk, into safe accommodation, the funding has had conditions attached. This has meant some people are falling through the gaps in support and therefore remain sleeping on our streets at a time where the new strain of coronavirus makes homelessness a heightened risk to life.

This includes through the new Protect Programme. While incredibly welcome, the programme reaches 10 local authority areas and focuses on supporting people who are defined as clinically vulnerable. However, barriers to accessing healthcare mean that people experiencing homelessness may not be recorded as being clinically vulnerable, even though they would meet this definition if they were diagnosed. Anyone living on the streets and many people who experience other forms of homelessness are by definition vulnerable.

With people newly becoming homeless, and the new strain of coronavirus increasing the rates of the disease, we are ready and willing to work with the government to expand the support available for people sleeping rough or in unsafe accommodation. With the success of Everyone In, local councils and charity partners have the experience of arranging self-contained accommodation, cohorting, and socially distanced support, and can act quickly.

As a result, we would like to work with the Westminster Government to expand the Protect Programme based on Everyone In principles. This will mean all local authorities once again fully funded to support everyone who needs it, regardless of immigration status, local connection, and priority need, into safe and fully self-contained accommodation. Given the increased transmissibility of the new Covid variant, it will be critical that accommodation is provided with individual washing and other facilities to avoid any need for shared spaces.

Once supported into self-contained accommodation, local authorities and support services can also work with individuals as they have continued to do so throughout the pandemic to provide a plan for move-on accommodation. We welcome the move-on options that have been developed as part of the original Everyone In programme and ask for a renewed emphasis on helping people into stable, long-term accommodation to help ensure that no-one is forced to return to the streets when coronavirus restrictions ease.

Ensuring people facing homelessness and frontline staff receive are vaccinated

These measures are urgently needed to not only protect people from the new strain of coronavirus, but to also support access for people facing homelessness to a coronavirus vaccine.

Priority for the vaccine to date has been predominantly based on age. However, parallels can be drawn between the vulnerability shared by the chronologically old and the biologically old, and while age is a key proxy for vulnerability to Covid-19, chronic homelessness could also be considered a valid and justifiable equivalent proxy.

For example, a recent study found that among a sample of homeless hostel residents in London, the levels of frailty were comparable to 89-year-olds in the general population. Participants had an average of seven long-term health conditions, far higher than people in their 90s.

Further, around a third of people who are experiencing the worst forms of homelessness would be deemed ‘clinically vulnerable’ and 1 in 10 would be deemed ‘extremely vulnerable’ to the virus. But unless people who are homeless and vulnerable to the virus are plugged into health services and reached with the vaccine, many people will remain at serious risk of the virus.

The increased threat for people facing homelessness is also recognised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). It acknowledges the health inequalities faced by people who are homeless and advises that a targeted approach will be needed including through the use of local Screening and Immunisation Teams. As such, we are asking the JCVI to prioritise people who are homeless in emergency accommodation, and frontline staff for vaccination due to increased risk of outbreaks.

This will need to go hand in hand with a comprehensive delivery plan to ensure people facing homelessness can access the vaccine. This should include access to people in provision provided by faith and community groups, or non-commissioned accommodation services such as those supported by the Homelessness Winter Transformation Fund.

Through an expanded Protect Programme which supports people into self-contained accommodation, people facing homelessness most at risk to the dangers of the new strain of coronavirus would be more easily identifiable, which would facilitate provision of the vaccine.

To ensure the success of such an approach, local health and social care teams can be involved in the support offered through the Protect Programme, by ensuring that enhanced infection, prevention and control measures are strictly implemented and adhered to across every facility accommodating people who are homeless.

Again, as delivery partners to local and national government, homelessness charities stand ready to assist the roll-out of vaccination to people facing homelessness and to front-line staff working in homelessness.

[1] Lewer, D. et al (2020) ‘COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness in England: a modelling study’. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30396-9/fulltext

[2] Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) reports: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports

[3] Raphael Rogans-Watson et al. Premature frailty, geriatric conditions and multimorbidity among people experiencing homelessness: a cross-sectional observational study in a London hostel. July 2020.

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

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.

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