This year’s Churches Winter Beds scheme comes to an end
A WINTER BED SCHEME for people sleeping rough in Southampton has come to an end today, Monday 1st March.
The Project
Paul Woodman, from Street Support Southampton and Love Southampton’s executive board, helped organise the offer following the success of last winter’s beds across seven local churches.
He said:
“Working with the council and its partners, including public health, we were able to provide a warm place to stay over 280 times during this winter’s storms and cold weather. Following the Government’s guidelines, we created pods inside a church hall, unused during the pandemic and owned by Southampton Lighthouse International Church (SLIC). Each pod had its own bed and an exterior window to reduce the risk of COVID infections. I am grateful to the 60 volunteers, who supported the two-month scheme which opened every night to people who had been referred.
“It’s another example of the joint initiatives across the city to tackle rough sleeping – all listed on the Street Support and Love Southampton websites.”
Speaking from SLIC, Sanjay Rajo said:
“We were so pleased to open up our church and welcome people into the building, especially on the bitterly cold nights. They received a hot meal, breakfast and a takeaway lunch each day, all served by volunteers.”
Love Southampton’s collaboration of local churches and Christian charities were delighted to be involved in the project through the provision of food, volunteers and further administrative support - with special thanks owed to The Big Difference at Above Bar Church, Street Support Southampton, Southampton Lighthouse International Church, and operations coordinator, Asha Malankar.
The Detail
The project moved away from the traditional winter night shelter model adopted by churches in previous years. Although there were some similarities, the specific differences were:
No shared sleeping space, partitioning was floor to ceiling and there was no shared air space
Sleeping space was well ventilated
No communal meals
No communal entry / exit from the building
No rotation around church buildings but set in one site
This approach was discussed in detail on webinars with Housing Justice nationally with other cities and towns. Locally, the team had detailed discussions with the local authority, public health and the lead for rough sleeping in the city. They looked at the arrangements and ensured they comply with government guidance and there was also a forensic joint examination of the risk assessment, volunteer guidance and training required.
The project was only possible because Lighthouse had a currently redundant hall. It has eight exterior windows, which we could build a pod around. Local builders kindly volunteered their time and skills to build these pods, with designs provided pro bono by an architect.
The only alternative to this project for the guests was to sleep rough, and as many may know the risks of death and illness associated with sleeping rough are substantial. During restrictions, begging is less successful and with cafés and restaurants closing early, there is less access to food. The risk of malnourishment and starvation is also higher.
Our sincere thanks go out again to all involved - volunteers, builders, architects, churches and charities.
To find out more about the work being done across the city to help those sleeping rough, visit our homelessness page, or go to www.streetsupport.net/southampton.
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