House Liverpool Homeless In Car Parks!

An idea to provide overnight accommodation for rough sleepers in car parks and other public spaces has been met with a cool response by Liverpool City Council.

The plan is the brainchild of two young construction professionals, Soran and Saman Shanapur, and could be rolled out in major cities in the North West. That is the view of the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors, who have shortlisted the idea for a major award. Soran Shangapur said: “Converting car parks to become temporary homeless shelters overnight is simple, cost effective and is an idea that could be implemented in all cities. Saman and I both feel passionately about the need to support people living on the streets and we are delighted that our idea is one of the final twelve.”

But, according to a report in the Liverpool Echo, the plan has been met with a strong response from the City Council and local homeless campaigners who have both said it is simply not required in the city. The proposal also involves providing homeless people with a portable closet in which they can store personal effects that can be moved to the location where they will be sleeping on a given night. The creation of a mobile app would enable homeless people to reserve accommodation in advance.

Liverpool Council’s deputy mayor and cabinet member for housing, Lynnie Hinnigan said the authority’s Labre House facility means that an idea like this simply isn’t required. She said: “The council and its partners are working hard to support rough sleepers in Liverpool. In our experience, finding people a place to stay is only part of the solution. When we encourage people to come inside they can also access a range of support, including health services, drugs and alcohol rehabilitation, debt advice, mental health services and much more.”

“We believe that coming inside is the first step on a journey to help a person tackle the issues they face and improve their lifestyle. This is why the council funds more than 700 temporary accommodation places and we have just received funding to provide additional long-term accommodation and support for up to 40 for rough sleepers. We also have a range of services targeted at people who are rough sleeping and last year we launched our Always Room inside Campaign, which as the name suggests, means there is a solution available for anyone who needs it.”

She added: “Our commissioned outreach team offers support to people sleeping rough in the city on a daily basis to assess their needs, encourage them to come inside and link them into other services, such as treatment. We have established Labre House as a year-round rough sleepers’ night hub which provides a safe place to stay for everyone regardless of their circumstances or background. No one in Liverpool needs to sleep on the streets, nor in its car parks.”

She said: “Offering the homeless a place to stay is a great idea, but this also needs to be tied in with services and advice, otherwise, this just becomes a kind of ‘homeless hotel.’ Without access to service provision, it won’t get people off the streets permanently.”

“In Liverpool we have the only shelter in the country which is open and accessible every single night to all rough sleepers without any conditions attached – Labre House. This kind of provision would be better rolled out across other cities than a car park based shelter, as ultimately, as well as shelter, homeless people need advice on ways to get off the streets and access help.”