St Mungo’s responds to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) letter to local authorities asking them, over the weekend, to house all people sleeping rough, and those in hostels and night shelters.
Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said: “Our teams are working round the clock to support vulnerable rough sleepers to self-isolate in safety. Working with partners we have been able to help more than 600 people this week indoors and out of harm’s way.
“We welcome government announcements that will support vulnerable people to self-isolate. But this is about more than a roof. We need more dedicated support workers to help people while they are isolating, to provide vital food, medicine and advice services.
“During the pandemic, the government and councils must ensure that homelessness charities can access emergency funding they might need.
“Beyond the crisis the government must ensure that support and housing is available to anyone at risk of sleeping rough so people have a home for good.
“I would continue to urge people to contact StreetLink if they are concerned about someone sleeping rough, or to call 999 in a health emergency. You can support St Mungo’s work by visiting www.mungos.org/coronvirus.”
What can the public do?
- Visit www.mungos.org/coronavirus
- Contact the national referral service StreetLink online
- In a health emergency situation call 999.
- Follow St Mungo’s on social media for updates @stmungos
ENDS
Notes to editors
- Over 4,000 people sleep on the streets of England on any one night. Rough sleeping and homelessness has grown over the last decade. It is harmful and dangerous and ruins lives.
- People experiencing homelessness are more likely than most to have an issue with their health; the average age of death is 45 for a man, and for a woman just 43, and poor health is at the root of this problem.
About St Mungo’s
For 50 years St Mungo’s has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle homelessness. Last year 30,000 people were supported by St Mungo’s services. Each night our 17 outreach teams go out to help people sleeping rough to move away from the streets, and every night we provide a bed and support to over 2,850 people. We work to prevent homelessness and support people at every step of their recovery from homelessness. www.mungos.org
