More rough sleepers to be taken into shelter accommodation this winter in Cornwall

A person sleeping rough (Image: Tom Davis)

More rough sleepers will be taken off the streets this winter after Cornwall Council secured additional accommodation.

The local authority has been working with Cornwall Housing, Harbour Housing and We Are With You (WAWY), the community drug and alcohol treatment team, to provide up to 15 additional self-contained rooms in mid Cornwall in response to the cold winter weather.

The rooms are part of the authority’s Cold Weather Provision plan which is in place between December and March and will be staffed 24/7 and fully supported by teams of experts offering drug and alcohol treatment if required.

In the past cold weather provision has involved housing rough sleepers at night shelters, but this year with the Covid-19 pandemic this type of accommodation is not available.

Instead, the council will use funding from the Government’s Cold Weather Fund to ensure rough sleepers have a place to stay, while also keeping safe from coronavirus.

The authority said it remained committed to ensuring that emergency accommodation is available to people who are sleeping rough and will be keeping the current 49 bed spaces available in temporary accommodation across the Duchy open until March 2021.

This includes 21 temporary self-contained cabins on Cornwall Council owned sites in Penzance and Truro.

Since the first Covid-19 lockdown in March, 168 single people in Cornwall who would otherwise have ended up sleeping rough have been offered a safe place to stay.

Cornwall Council portfolio holder for homes Andrew Mitchell said: “In some cases, it is not as simple as just providing an emergency place to stay.  Sometimes people have complex needs and issues.

"Each person will be encouraged to work with us to agree move-on plans that address not just their housing needs, but the support they need so they don’t end up returning to a life on the streets.

“We are also finding that during these uncertain times when the coronavirus pandemic has affected so many people, those who were sofa surfing or living with friends or relatives have found themselves homeless. People could no longer share their homes under the stresses of the public health emergency and the lockdown. This means that the number of people needing help with accommodation is significantly higher.”

Residents who see people sleeping rough can also play their part by contacting StreetLink via www.streetlink.org.uk or by phoning them on 0300 500 0914.

Malcolm Putko from Harbour Housing added: “We will be assisting those entrenched in rough sleeping into safe accommodation for the winter, ensuring that they get the tailored support they need to address their problems, recover from the damaging effects of homelessness and turn their lives around forever.”

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