St Mungo’s responds to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) letter to local authorities asking them to house all people sleeping rough and those in hostels and night shelters over the weekend.

Howard Sinclair, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said:

“Our teams are working round the clock to support vulnerable rough sleepers to self-isolate in safety. Working with partners we have been able to help more than 600 people this week indoors and out of harm’s way.

“We welcome government announcements that will support vulnerable people to self-isolate. But this is about more than a roof. We need more dedicated support workers to help people while they are isolating, to provide vital food, medicine and advice services.

“During the pandemic, the government and councils must ensure that homelessness charities can access emergency funding they might need.

“Beyond the crisis the government must ensure that support and housing is available to anyone at risk of sleeping rough so people have a home for good.

“I would continue to urge people to contact StreetLink if they are concerned about someone sleeping rough, or to call 999 in a health emergency. You can support St Mungo’s work by visiting www.mungos.org/coronavirus.”

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