Emergency homeless accommodation provided as temperatures drop to zero
Local charity supplies safe shelter as low temperatures "can kill people who are street homeless"
Following Oxford City Council’s decision to activate its severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP), the first beds are being provided as temperatures drop to sub-zero.
Oxfordshire was hit with an early layering of snow on Tuesday morning, and temperatures are forecast to stay below zero overnight until Friday, according to BBC Weather.
As widespread snow falls across Oxfordshire, bringing temperatures down with it, local charity St. Mungo's alongside Oxford City Council is guaranteeing rough sleepers shelter during this freezing weather.
The emergency accommodation was initially provided on Tuesday and will run until this Friday. After Friday SWEP will be reviewed daily in accordance with overnight forecasts.
SWEP shelter has also been activated in the following areas:
Across London
Reading
Bristol
Bournemouth
St. Mungo’s have said that they have increased the number of routine outreach shifts across Oxfordshire, and within its other activated cities. Whilst more accommodation is also being made available to ensure everybody who is on the streets is offered a space to stay indoors overnight.
St. Mungo’s Oxford Street Population Outreach Team (OxSPOT) will allocate SWEP rooms to people during the day, providing people with a venue and informing them of when they need to arrive.
Hannah Faulkner, Head of Rough Sleeping Services at St Mungo’s said: “These low temperatures can kill people who are street homeless and it is absolutely right this is treated as an emergency.
“As ever St Mungo’s teams are prepared to respond to this critical situation. We will continue to work tirelessly around the clock to ensure that people are brought into the safe and warm and prevent rough sleeping in freezing temperatures which can also increase the risk of hypothermia.”
Faulkner added that anyone who is concerned about a person sleeping rough should contact StreetLink immediately. StreetLink operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with alerts being passed to local outreach teams who then use the information to find and support people sleeping rough.
People without a SWEP bed allocation will be able to present at O'Hanlon House between 11pm and midnight where the charity, Homeless Oxfordshire, will be able to assist.