Emotional Resilience And Self-Care Support For Frontline Workers

Supporting the homeless and rough sleepers has not suddenly become stressful due to the spread of Covid-19, but the virus has added another level of urgency and strain on an already overburdened system. A survey conducted by Community Care at the start of March, found more than 70% of children’s social workers struggling with their […]

Government ‘Must Do More’ To Help House The Homeless

Homelessness charities have written to the government urging the removal of the remaining barriers preventing people who are homeless from getting access to the self-contained accommodation they need. Crisis, Homeless Link, and The Passage say too many people remain on the street or stuck in hostels and night shelters, according to 24Housing. Ten days ago, […]

Rough Sleepers Flock To Heathrow Airport

Up to 200 rough sleepers are reportedly using Heathrow Airport as a refuge during the coronavirus lockdown. Airport bosses did not comment on the numbers involved, but said they were working with agencies to find alternatives for people. Paul Atherton who regularly stays at Terminal Five said he had noticed many more rough sleepers, reports the […]

And Now For Some Good News…

A New York landlord has waived April’s rent for every tenant in all of his 80 properties. Mario Salerno posted a notice on the front doors of all of his buildings, telling around 200 tenants that they didn’t have to worry about paying this month’s rent. The 59-year-old said he wants people to concentrate on taking […]

COVID-19: Radical Action To House Rough Sleepers

The government has written to local authorities in England asking them to house all people sleeping rough, and those in hostels and night shelters, by this weekend (29th March). In a letter sent to homelessness managers and rough-sleeping coordinators in every local authority, 24Housing reports that the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government said: […]

COVID-19: Pressure On Renters Could Lead To Evictions

An evictions firm says it is taking on extra staff to kick out “a record number of tenants” – after protests that Boris Johnson broke his promise of a ban. Labour said the revelation proved the coronavirus legislation passed – which fails to stop notices being sent out and leaves up to 20,000 renters at risk […]

COVID-19: Outrage As Hotels Evict Homeless Families

The hotel chain Travelodge caused outrage last week after it emerged it gave homeless families and key worker guests just two hours to leave after shutting about 360 of its UK hotels at short notice to comply with coronavirus measures. The chain, which is used by many councils to house homeless people, slipped letters under […]

Local Councils Tackling Coronavirus To Protect The Homeless

Councils are stepping up to help rough sleepers and enforce a new duty of care on Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) landlords to ensure tenants can satisfactorily self-isolate. The emergency COVID-19 Bill before Parliament today (23rd March) provides for significant fines for non-compliance and/or the revocation of HMO licences, reports 24Housing. The Local Government Association […]

Sefton CVS Rises To The Challenge Of Coronavirus

A recent statement from Sefton CVS outlines their approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their Chief Executive, Angela White, writes: “At Sefton CVS we want you to know that we are standing alongside you in this hugely difficult time for you, your staff, volunteers and service users. Not only have we all had to think about […]

Report: “One Household Becomes Homeless Every Four Minutes”

Just hours after Government announced its rental protection plan, its own newly released statistics show that in the last year a household became homeless every four minutes in England. With the Resolution Foundation calling Coronavirus a “full blown economic crisis”, the stats estimate 62,280 homeless families living in temporary accommodation, of which 9% (5,400) are […]