Coronavirus: homeless services across the city continue in a time of crisis

One of the services impacted by closures and social distancing measures is St Anne’s Day Centre which is based at Upper St James’s Street in Kemptown.

The charity is currently unable to operate its day centre due to the temporary closure of its building.

Every weekday the centre provides up to 70 homeless people with meals, support, and company.

Volunteers from St Anne’s are still helping to redistribute surplus food from businesses which have closed by working with Sussex Homeless Support (SHS) and other charities.

SHS is operating its services as normal by providing accommodation, food, and electronic devices to the homeless.

The charity will continue to run its Sunday street kitchen at Brighton’s Clock Tower with extra hygiene measures in place.

Jim Deans, of Sussex Homeless Support, said: “We have been in crisis for five years- for us this is just another level of crisis.

“We’re literally snowed under now with food; we’re providing the service we currently provide and probably a bit more.

“We’re going to put extra precautions in place on Sunday and we’re going to spray everything down to kill bacteria- that’s the best we can do.

“I haven’t met one of our volunteers who is scared about getting the virus; they’re just scared about transmitting it.”

Brighton YMCA has moved its youth advice service online but its supported accommodation remains staffed and operational.

Brighton Housing Trust is also operating its supported accommodation as normal and a number of its staff are working from home.

The trust provides housing for 450 people who should contact the organisation for help and support if they are self-isolating.

Project Antifreeze has closed its day centre at Portland Road, Hove but is currently operating other services off-site.

This includes a shower and laundry van which will be stationed at the Hove Peace Statue at certain times throughout the week.

The charity will also provide an outreach service on the streets and aims to deliver food to rough sleepers and the homeless.

Day centre users can pick up mail and use the phone at the Portland Road centre but will not be allowed inside the building itself.

If you are concerned for a rough sleeper, Brighton and Hove City Council recommends contacting StreetLink to make it aware of homeless people on the streets.

The city council says it is providing accommodation for rough sleepers during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

More information and support for rough sleepers can be found at the city council’s website here.

A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: “Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role.”

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.