As we approach winter, thoughts turn to SWEP (Severe Weather Emergency Protocol) provision for people experiencing rough sleeping. With a temporary accommodation crisis so large that it threatens to bankrupt local authorities across the UK, and continued reductions in funding for supported accommodation services in many areas, will we see the usual SWEP provision limited or full, and what does that mean for emergency night shelters and move on? Will we see a return to more communal provision in church halls and dormitories?
The Covid pandemic brought the issues with night shelters in to sharp focus, with the previous government providing £10m funding for existing night shelters to convert from communal spaces to single-rooms. It also published operating principles for night shelters that stressed “where possible, emergency accommodation is offered on a single-room, 24-hour accessible model” and “safeguarding is prioritised within the service.”.
Housing Justice research in 2021 found “Almost everyone interviewed – guests, volunteers, coordinators and partners including local authorities – strongly believed that 24-hour access, self-contained or single room accommodation was more desirable than the communal, night-time-only model. It provided privacy and stability for guests, and made it easier for them to access support and employment. It was also more accessible for women.”
The Heriot Watt evidence review Ending rough sleeping: what works? found that unsuitable hostels and shelters (H&S) comprising large-scale emergency accommodation, limited support and often problematic move-on arrangements, did little to end homelessness and rough sleeping. “Evidence indicates consistently that many (and perhaps the majority of) homeless people find H&S intimidating environments. Significantly, a lack of move on housing stymies the system, forcing H&S to operate as longer-term but unsustainable solutions to street homelessness”. The research does say there is a role for supported housing, on either a transitional or long-term basis, when it is provided as a solution outside of a staircase model.
A Centre for Homeless Impact review of evidence also found night shelters do “not appear to be useful for general health issues, substance abuse issues, or social functioning of homeless individuals.”
So with all we know about the issues of communal spaces and large scale emergency hostels, and the increasing pressure on all forms of temporary accommodation, what are the solutions for severe weather this winter?
The recent Homeless Link research on ‘Prevention into Action’ found that the most common emergency stage interventions to prevent homelessness, so when someone is imminently about to lose their home or sleep rough, are B&Bs and supported housing, as well as street outreach. The least common interventions were supported lodgings and host homes (as well as communal night shelters, thankfully). These models, tend to be more cost-effective, and by their very nature more trauma informed than the alternatives.
Although staying in a host home is not suitable for everyone, should we be turning to a more community led response to homelessness or will we revert to the communal rooms and camp beds that are best left in the past? And what can the experience of Supported Lodgings, Nightstop and the Ukraine hosting scheme tell us about alternative solutions to B&B and other more expensive forms of Temporary Accommodation?
It feels like it is time to think bigger, better and more collectively about emergency responses to homelessness.
