A charity that works with rough sleepers has made an urgent plea for daytime homeless facilities to ensure nobody freezes to death.
Chester ShareShop in Northgate Street helped fill the gap in provision during the day by inviting homeless people in from the cold to enjoy a donated coffee – but on police advice this service had to stop.
Cheshire Police have now agreed the shop can start giving away soup as long as it is eaten off the premises. However, charity workers say shelter is desperately needed to protect people from the cold, wind and rain.
Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) recognises daytime support should be ‘a priority’ although immediate action is not on the agenda. But there is emergency provision for individuals when temperatures plummet, determined on a case-by-case basis.
ShareShop said in a statement: “This lack of a funded day centre in the city is a disaster waiting to happen. Over the past 12 months, numerous people who are homeless have literally frozen to death in London, Manchester, Birmingham and earlier today in Chesterfield to name but a few.
“Today London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he had ordered the opening up of emergency homeless shelters in the capital, as the Met Office declared temperatures were set to plummet in the second and third weeks of January even lower than the first.
“The Government has said it has invested £500m to tackle homelessness, including prevention funding and £40m for councils.
“Whilst we acknowledge the cuts that local authorities have faced in recent years, we commend CWaC council on it’s current night time provision for the homeless and its current public consultation to improve its future offering to people who are homeless, which includes the possibility of a funded day centre, however we know that this will not happen overnight and in fact might not happen at all.
“Our concern is immediate though, with the worst of the winter yet to come, we are calling on CWaC to act now, and prevent more of the most vulnerable people in our society from literally freezing to death on our streets. As one volunteer to the homeless put it 'I wouldn’t even leave my dog out in this weather’.”
The statement concluded: “In the long term a properly funded day centre, where people who are homeless can access donated food, warm drinks, clothing, support, education and medical assistance is absolutely essential in the City of Chester, but what we need immediately is a safe and warm place where people can get out of the cold and receive warm food and drink until then.”
CWaC intends 'to invest in new daytime activities' as part of a restucture. And the council will recommission its four housing-related and homelessness contracts, with a public consultation currently under way. All current contracts are due to finish at the end of March 2018.
The council wants to make sure the new service is more co-ordinated and saves money by combining the four contracts and having a single provider.
Alistair Jeffs, the council’s director of strategic commissioning, said in response to ShareShop: “We operate a robust Severe Weather Emergency protocol, which works to ensure that anyone who is homeless has access to services throughout the day as well as the night time during the colder months.
“Working in close partnership with many agencies, we can ensure that everyone is brought in from the cold. Bed spaces are always on offer and, in extreme circumstances, B and B accommodation can also be used – meaning there is no need for anyone to be rough sleeping on a cold night unless they choose to.
“This extended offer runs from the 1 November to the 31 March each year and is not only triggered when the temperature drops, but also in high wind and heavy rain and operates.
“There are a number of voluntary and faith organisations that offer support for the homeless within the borough already and we do recognise the need to increase levels of day provision for users of this service. We are looking to incorporate this into our new service going forward and I would urge people to make sure they have their say in our consultation.”
