Homeless Man Found In Sleeping Bag Covered In Snow On Liverpool Street

Harrowing story highlights danger of city’s homelessness crisis during treacherous winter, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The city continues to face a crisis of homelessness and rough sleeping, which has become particularly dangerous during the freezing winter weather we have seen in recent weeks. Staff working at the city’s rough sleeper night hub shared one experience which highlighted that danger in harrowing fashion. The Echo visited the night hub in the city centre, which is run by Liverpool City Council and the Whitechapel Centre charity and provides respite from the cold streets for rough sleepers during the winter months.

During our visit, we were told the stark story of a man recently found in a perilous position in the city centre. Shelagh Brady, team leader at the night hub explained: “This has been the toughest winter we have faced for rough sleeping – and the coldest. We are seeing people here who are very unwell. One gentleman was spotted recently by someone in a flat as they could see him sleeping rough near to Mount Pleasant. When our outreach team went out to see him, he was in a sleeping bag but they couldn’t initially see him because he was completely covered in a layer of snow. We brought him in that night but he could have easily lost his life.”

Commenting on the grim story, Whitechapel Services manager Sophie Mayor added: “Thankfully the man was alive after the outreach team found him under the layer of snow and we got him inside straight away. But the fact he was there like that is really harrowing. It is very, very sad and very frustrating.”

This has been the worst winter on record for rough sleeping in Liverpool. Figures for those sleeping on the city streets peaked at a shocking 192 in the month of November. The number of long-term rough sleepers in the city has risen by more than 40% in the past two years. When winter arrives, these numbers become even more of a worry.

Ms Brady said: “This is the worst I have ever known it. Absolutely. When I was working in the old Whitechapel Centre … the phone was constantly ringing with beds for people but there is just nothing now. It is heart-breaking when you are assessing someone and they aren’t classed as a priority need and they are walking out with you knowing they are going to find a doorway. If I have assessed a young girl on a Friday, I will be thinking about her all weekend, constantly checking my phone to see if she has been placed somewhere and is safe. Those streets are mean.”