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Liverpool to create new shelter for
rough sleepers
LIVERPOOL is to set up a new severe
weather shelter for people sleeping rough in its City Center this winter.
Liverpool City Council has submitted a planning application to establish the
shelter on Camden Street, off London Road in what was a former dance studio.
The previous shelter, located at St Stephen's Church, on Crown Street, has been
sold for redevelopment. but the new site is deemed a better location as it is
based closer to the a range of other support services.
The new shelter will continue to be operated by The Whitechapel Centre and if
planning is approved, following public consultation, it would be operational by
mid October 2017.
Last winter the Mayor of Liverpool changed the rules to increase the shelter's
operations by allowing it to open on any given night where the temperature is
forecast to drop below 2?c (instead of 3 consecutive nights at below 0?c),
and that policy will continue this winter. That decision was made following a
report that showed that despite the City Council funding 750 beds every night for people to take up, as part of a wider
₤10.8m annual programme to support the City's homeless, a core number of around
15 to 20 are remaining on the City's streets even in near to freezing
conditions.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, who is to publish an independent report into
improving services for Rough Sleepers next week, said:- ''The relocation
of Liverpool's Severe Weather Shelter has been on the cards for some time and
this new location is a far better place as it is much closer to other support
services in the City Center.
The shelter plays a key role in helping us reach out to those who, for whatever
their reasons, refuse to accept help. It was never open enough until I changed
the weather trigger rule and this new location means our colleagues at The
Whitechapel Centre will have a better connected platform to continue their
excellent work."
As well as the Severe Weather Shelter and funding other services, Liverpool City
Council also promotes a helpline to ensure those sleeping on the streets receive
support.
The 'No Second Night Out' initiative says that while there may be many reasons why
somebody sleeps rough for 1 night there is no reason why they need to spend a 2nd night on the streets.
By ringing:- 0300 123 2041 or via sending an email
email
to the
outreach workers, from the Whitechapel Centre, will provide a rapid response to
try and ensure no new rough sleeper spends more than a single night on the
streets.
Since No Second Night Out started in 2012, hundreds of people have been helped
after people contacted the service, in the 1st 6 months of this year 175 calls
were made to it.
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