Majority of Worthing and Adur’s rough sleepers found emergency accommodation

Almost all of Adur and Worthing’s homeless people have been found emergency accommodation during the second national lockdown.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Similar to the herculean effort seen in March, Adur and Worthing Councils’ homelessness and outreach teams have worked with local organisations such as homeless charity Turning Tides to find rooms for rough sleepers, with a view to housing them indefinitely.

Fourteen people have been found shelter, according to the councils, while three others are in contact with officers from the councils.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The teams have also set up pop-up day provision at St Mary of the Angels Church in Richmond Road in Worthing, to support those who are on the streets with daily food.

Worthing Outreach Workers Georgina Baumann and Carl Sutherland SUS-201211-151926001Worthing Outreach Workers Georgina Baumann and Carl Sutherland SUS-201211-151926001
Worthing Outreach Workers Georgina Baumann and Carl Sutherland SUS-201211-151926001

The housing department is also beginning to deal with enquiries from the ‘hidden homeless’ – people who are moving between friends and family or in insecure accommodation who may need temporary accommodation as lockdown progresses.

As the first lockdown hit, bringing with it the uncertainty that many people remember well, many of these people in insecure accommodation took to the streets, leading to much greater numbers of rough sleepers in the summer.

Worthing Borough Council’s cabinet member for customer services, Dr Heather Mercer, said: “During the last lockdown our homelessness teams did a fantastic job finding everyone a roof over their heads and, while we hope the problem won’t be as acute this time, this early intervention shows again we are determined to protect the most vulnerable in our community as far as we possibly can.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

During the first lockdown, rough sleepers across Adur and Worthing were placed into emergency accommodation, including more than 80 being housed in Worthing’s Chatsworth Hotel.

More than 50 were abruptly evicted, despite the Chatsworth offering to continue to accommodate them, after the hotel’s insurers ruled doing so would invalidate its insurance.

Hotel accommodation is not available this time around, but council accommodation and Turning Tides’ sites have been utilised.

Dr Mercer’s Adur equivalent, Carson Albury, said: “We have acted extremely quickly to find accommodation for these people. Obviously during a lockdown not all the services normally available to them remain open so that it is vital that we at least find a place inside for them, especially as unlike last time we are now in colder conditions.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A spokesman for the councils said funding from the Government’s Next Steps Accommodation Programme will help find shelter options over the winter.