Police to work with Bexhill homeless charity

Rother Police have announced that they will be working with a local homeless charity in Bexhill.
Rother Police has announced that they will be supporting Warming Up The Homeless in Bexhill.Rother Police has announced that they will be supporting Warming Up The Homeless in Bexhill.
Rother Police has announced that they will be supporting Warming Up The Homeless in Bexhill.

A police spokesperson said: “We are working with Warming Up The Homeless in Bexhill, a charity who help and support the homeless find a home and ensure they have a hot meal, drink and clothes.”

The relationship between police and the charity will see police refer known rough sleepers to the organisation for assistance.

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The charity will also work closely with police during any missing person case, as the charity says that missing people sometimes attend outreach services.

Warming Up The Homeless, which started in 2015, distributes aid to homeless people across Bexhill, Hastings, and Eastbourne.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “Our mission is the relief of poverty among the street homeless/rough sleepers and homeless through the provision of items to support basic needs.

"We also aim to improve the individual’s welfare through emotional support, even if it’s just a smile or by signposting them to other services.”

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CEO Trudy Hampton said: “We work closely with police, especially concerning missing people. Missing people sometimes attend our outreach services to access hot food and drink, change of clothes and toiletries.

"We have a good success rate and the charity is often one of the first ports of call to facilitate finding a missing person.

“The charity is one of the first ports of call again when it comes to rough sleepers. I have found the local police to be compassionate and understanding and we are happy to take the rough sleeper as a referral from police to ensure they receive the best help for their specific needs.

“Individual police officers help by supporting us with clothing and other items. We are also applying for a grant to assist our work from the “East Sussex Safer Streets” initiative run by Sussex Police. It is also a source of pride that a serving police officer is one of our volunteers and is an asset to the charity.

"Our service increased by 75 per cent during covid so I’m pleased that our highly trained volunteers are receiving this support.”