Coronavirus: homeless people in Chichester given temporary emergency accommodation

Member of the homeless community in Chichester have been given a temporary roof over their head amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
By Joe Stack
Published 25th Mar 2020, 15:03 BST
Updated 25th Mar 2020, 15:04 BST
Homelessness stock imageHomelessness stock image
Homelessness stock image

Chichester homelessness charity Stonepillow announced the decision today after working with district councils and hotel and leisure companies.

Members of the homeless community are considered 'at risk' due to to many rough sleepers living with other under-lying health conditions, the charity said.

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A spokesman for Stonepillow said: "For 30 years, Stonepillow has been committed to supporting and empowering homeless people towards sustainable independence and well-being, and during these past weeks have faced more challenges in keeping their clients safe, secure and supported.

"As the reality of coronavirus cases rising across the UK, rough sleepers are thought to be more at risk of contracting the coronavirus, due to many having underlying health conditions.

"We have been working both strategically and operationally with Arun and Chichester District Councils, and a range of hotel, leisure companies and other providers to ensure we have enough places where people can safely live who are either rough sleeping or insecurely housed.

"As of today, we are pleased to announce that we have successfully placed all rough sleepers in the local area into temporary emergency accommodation to help lower the risk of infection and enable them to self-isolate if needed.

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"With many food banks and soup kitchens in the local area already closed, another challenge is to keep supplying food to the homeless and vulnerable.

"To minimise the risk of spreading the virus, we have regrettably had to close our Day Hub services in Bognor Regis and Chichester, replacing this with the supply of essential food parcels and are appealing to the local community to support us in anyway they can by continuing to donate food and supplies by contacting [email protected]."

Fellow Chichester homeless charity The Four Streets Project also announced a change in its operations as on Monday. You can find out more here: Coronavirus: Chichester homeless charity changes operations

Related topics:Bognor Regis