Saving lives from the cold

Image: Faz Outreach workerWhen the temperature drops below freezing, our teams work alongside local government to deliver SWEP.

SWEP stands for severe weather emergency protocol. It means more accommodation is made temporarily available so that everyone sleeping rough can be offered safe shelter.

Faz, Outreach Worker

“I got into outreach work because of my own experiences. I slept rough myself back in the ‘70s, I was only a teenager at the time. That’s what made me want to help people who are homeless, so they have the chance to turn things around like I did.

Back when I was on the streets there was no such thing as outreach, so I didn’t have people coming up to me and trying to offer me help. I got my first job as an Outreach Worker in 1991. I’ve been with St Mungo’s for the last two years.

Working during SWEP can be pretty chaotic. We have to drop all our normal admin work and just focus on heading out onto the streets. But I enjoy it really – I got into the job to go out and help people, not to sit in an office doing paperwork!

The biggest challenge for me during SWEP is prioritising who to help first. Of course you want to get everybody inside all at once, but there are some people who are more vulnerable that we need to get to first. If they’ve got physical or mental health problems, for example, or if they’re taking lots of substances, they could fall asleep in the cold without realising what’s going on. That could be fatal.”

Even though SWEP is challenging, it is so worth it. Not only do we prevent potentially horrible things happening to people, but we’re sometimes able to help people who would usually be really difficult for us to work with.
Image: Ella Outreach workerElla, Outreach Worker

“When SWEP is announced, it doesn’t matter what shift you were meant to be on or what work you thought you were going to do that day. We drop everything and make sure we are out every day, from first thing in the morning to late at night.

SWEP is definitely hard work. When it’s that cold and dark it’s difficult to be outside for long periods of time. And the practicalities can be a bit of a nightmare. We’ll be wrapped up in so many layers that people barely recognise us, and taking our gloves on and off over and over again so that we can get things sorted on our phones without getting numb fingers.

It’s more draining on your body than normal outreach because you have to work hard to keep yourself warm. I often find myself falling asleep in the taxi home! It’s tough being outside in the cold – I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for people who have no choice.

Even though SWEP is challenging, it is so worth it. Not only do we prevent potentially horrible things happening to people, but we’re sometimes able to help people who would usually be really difficult for us to work with.

For example, some people have no recourse to public funds because of their immigration status, even though they’re in the UK legally. Normally that means there’s very little we can do for them. People with no recourse have to find work. But it’s pretty much impossible to get a job when you’re sleeping rough, when you’ve got no money to travel to interviews, no computer to send emails or write a CV.

During SWEP we can offer anyone a space inside regardless of who they are. That means we can work with people with no recourse, we can help them apply for settled status or find a job. That gives them the chance to start working towards the kind of life they want and to begin to support themselves. None of that would be possible if it wasn’t for SWEP.”

Interested in finding our more about our Outreach work? Find out what it is like to be an Outreach Worker.

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