The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, joined outreach workers in central London early this morning, helping rough sleepers off the streets and into emergency temporary accommodation.
As temperatures plummeted well below freezing last night, the Mayor triggered his Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) for the first time this winter to protect homeless people. The activation of SWEP ensures that councils across London (alongside homelessness charities) open additional emergency accommodation for people who are sleeping rough during weather conditions that could pose a threat to life.
Sadiq joined an outreach team, commissioned by the City of London and provided by Thames Reach, which responds to referrals about people sleeping rough in the square mile.
Last week, the Mayor launched his annual winter rough sleeping fundraising campaign, working with charity partner TAP London to raise money for four charities that work with young homeless Londoners: akt, Centrepoint, Depaul UK, and New Horizon Youth Centre. The donations help to support the Youth Homelessness Hub, which recently reopened at a new location in north London.
Londoners can donate to the campaign in a number of ways, including at one of the TAP points or using this link. There are 35 TAP points across London, including at Waterloo, Victoria, London Bridge and Liverpool Street stations.
Londoners can also use the StreetLink app or website to connect people they see sleeping rough with local support services.
What donations could provide:
£5 could cover the cost of sanitary products for a young person fleeing domestic abuse.
£20 could help a young person to stay connected to friends and family with a smartphone.
£50 could cover one night’s accommodation at an LGBTQ+ friendly hostel, plus food and travel vouchers.
£100 could cover the cost of counselling for up to 10 young people experiencing homelessness.
£500 could pay for two street outreach sessions per week, to locate and support young people who are sleeping rough.
Sadiq’s winter rough sleeping campaign has raised more than £600,000 since 2017.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “Since becoming Mayor, I’ve made it a personal priority to tackle rough sleeping in London and we’ve managed to help a record 13,500 people through our support services since 2016. However, it’s clear that the cost of living crisis is forcing more and more people to sleep rough in our city.
“I’ve been out in central London early this morning with an outreach team and it’s heart-breaking to see Londoners without a roof over their head in these freezing temperatures. We have a moral responsibility to tackle rough sleeping and never to turn a blind eye. So across our city, I’m working with others to ensure we’re doing everything we can to prevent anyone sleeping rough in these freezing conditions and to help them off the streets for good as we continue to build a fairer and safer London for everyone. I am also encouraging Londoners to help us by downloading the Streetlink app or using the Streetlink website to connect people they see sleeping rough with local support services.
“London’s councils and charities will be working even harder this week to support some of the most vulnerable people in our city. On behalf of all Londoners, I thank them for their tireless efforts.” Photo by Panhard, Wikimedia commons.