THE city council continues to support efforts to get rough sleepers off the streets during lockdown, despite the government not renewing a campaign held during the first wave of the pandemic.
The Everyone In scheme, which cost around £3.2 million, saw almost 15,000 homeless people in England moved into safe emergency accommodation such as hotels in the first lockdown.
After the scheme was not renewed, campaigners are now calling for its return so that rough sleepers can self-isolate, and prevent the spread of coronavirus amongst homeless communities.
But Worcester City Council said support was continuing in the city this lockdown.
A spokesman said: “Local support for rough sleepers continues. They are being placed in emergency and longer term accommodation - including the Fownes Hotel. Worcestershire councils have received cold weather funding totalling £47,552.65 so that Worcestershire councils can provide additional emergency accommodation on nights when the temperature drops to 0 or below.
"We’ve also received a further £25,000 from the government’s next steps accommodation programme. We’re keen to encourage Worcester News readers to contact Streetlink on 0300 500 0914 or via streetlink.org.uk if they are concerned about a rough sleeper. They will then alert the relevant outreach teams within Worcestershire to attend the location and offer appropriate support to the person.”
Jonathan Sutton, the chief executive of the city's St Paul’s Hostel, said he wanted to see the government fund both emergency action needed in lockdown and the long term solutions.
“While nationally (it has not happened) locally the local authority are doing their own thing and The Fownes is still being used,” he said. “But it is the imperfect solution long term. Hotels are not the answer, because they won’t have the additional services to help people solve the problems that are the route of people’s homelessness. You can’t solve homelessness by just solving rough sleeping.”
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