For the first time this winter, the Mayor of London is opening emergency cold weather shelters across the capital as temperatures are set to hit zero or below in several London boroughs tonight.
The Mayor, London councils, service providers and faith and community groups work together to open severe weather shelters across London when freezing temperatures are forecast anywhere in the capital. Previously, shelters were opened on a borough-by-borough basis, leading to patchy, inconsistent provision.
Between 1 July and 30 September 2019, the Mayor’s rough sleeping services worked with 1,543 people - up from 1,179 during the same period last year.
This work is complemented by the compassion of Londoners who have donated to the Mayor’s charity appeal and referred people they have seen sleeping rough to outreach services through the StreetLink website or app.
Notes to editors
- London rough sleeping figures are from CHAIN – a database the Mayor funds that records everyone who is seen rough sleeping in London for one or more nights. For more information visit https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports
- For more information on the Mayor’s rough sleeping services, visit: https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/housing-and-land/homelessness/mayors-rough-sleeping-services
- Last winter Londoners donated a record £247,742 to the Mayor’s winter rough sleeping campaign. The funds were split equally between the 22 charities who make up the London Homeless Charities Group.
- Londoners concerned about someone they have seen sleeping rough can use the StreetLink website (https://www.streetlink.org.uk/) or app to send an alert. The details provided are sent to the local authority or outreach service for the area in which the individual has been seen, to help outreach workers find them and connect them to support.