This World Homelessness Day (Friday 10 October), Somerset Council is encouraging residents to report rough sleeping when they see it, not just today, but throughout the year.
Rough sleeping is the most visible form of homelessness. It’s typically associated with sleeping outside but also refers to sleeping in a place not designed for living, such as an empty building or a car.
Outreach workers from the Council and its partners go around the county regularly to identify people who are sleeping rough with the aim to support them to find permanent accommodation.
Earlier this year, the Council’s Outreach Team found Stephen (name changed for privacy), sleeping in his car. With their support, he moved into permanent accommodation last month.
In a feedback form, Stephen said:
I’d like to thank [team member] and all the team that you work alongside […] for your continued support through what was a strange and difficult time for myself. You have been nothing short of amazing, and I will forever be grateful for everything you and your team [do], starting with the ‘bestest’ cup of coffee ever, to receiving the keys to my new home. Thank you.
I’m humbled by your organisation’s humanity and am appreciative that you and your kind are around to help people like me.
Councillor Sarah Wakefield, Lead Member for Adults Services, Housing and Homelessness at Somerset Council, said:
Sadly there are more people like Stephen in our county who also deserve a chance to get a safe space to sleep at night, and we are grateful for all of the support that we receive from the public in notifying us of people who are rough sleeping when they come across it.
Whenever you see someone whom you suspect is sleeping rough, we ask that you alert StreetLink. Even if you think that we know about them already, we would rather be notified about them twice than not at all.
StreetLink alerts local agencies about someone who is rough sleeping. They will try to help the person access support and accommodation, usually within 48 hours.
There’s more information about how the Council supports people like Stephen on its Help for people who are rough sleeping page.
