{"id":15825,"date":"2020-11-26T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=15825"},"modified":"2022-10-09T06:40:48","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T10:40:48","slug":"rough-sleepers-will-die-this-winter-without-government-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/rough-sleepers-will-die-this-winter-without-government-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Rough Sleepers Will Die This Winter Without Government Action"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As winter approaches and temperatures plunge across the United Kingdom, staying warm and indoors isn\u2019t always an option for the nation\u2019s homeless populations. Hypothermia can affect people in temperatures as high as 15.5 degrees Celsius, or 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This is especially true if they aren\u2019t wearing appropriate clothes to keep them warm.<\/p>\n

The combination of COVID-19 and cold weather creates a devastating double threat. As a result, doctors and campaigners have warned that rough sleepers in the UK face death without urgent action.<\/p>\n

Many rough sleepers are faced with the decision between staying outside in the cold or moving into shelters where the risk of contracting COVID-19 may be high.<\/p>\n

In March, the UK government implemented an extremely successful “everyone in” policy. Up to 15,000 rough sleepers were given immediate emergency accommodation. These accommodations included hotel rooms where homeless people could safely practice social distancing and isolation. According to one study<\/a>, this action saved an estimated 266 from death.<\/p>\n

Many charities and campaigners argue for a repeat of this policy to save vulnerable rough sleepers from the plummeting temperatures and increased threat of COVID-19. However, the government has announced other plans for helping homeless people this winter.<\/p>\n

Urgent Action Is Required<\/h3>\n

Self-contained accommodation for homeless people is essential this winter. A study from New York shows that the risk of dying from coronavirus for people living in communal homeless shelters was 61% higher<\/a>\u00a0than for the wider population.<\/p>\n

Another study of homelessness in London showed the levels of the frailty of rough sleepers are comparable to 89-year-olds in the general population. This shows just how vulnerable homeless people are when it comes to contracting COVID-19 during the winter months.<\/p>\n

These predictions of deaths among rough sleepers with nowhere safe to stay are an urgent wake-up call to the government. It isn\u2019t right that hundreds or even thousands of rough sleepers must live in cramped and crowded conditions, where proper social distancing is near impossible.<\/p>\n

What Accommodation Options are the UK Government Proposing?<\/h3>\n

The good news is that the UK government has made it clear that if night shelters are used, they must be upgraded<\/a> to follow strict guidelines to reduce the chances of infection from COVID-19. When used as a shared space, shelters are now offered as a “last resort.”<\/p>\n

Local authorities have suggested the following types of accommodation<\/a> for housing homeless people this winter:<\/p>\n