Record number of rough sleeper alerts sent in 24-hour period

Tuesday, 27 February 2018 - 5:03pm

StreetLink typically sees its use peak during periods of extreme weather, but this recent 24-hour period recorded the highest number of rough sleeper alerts since the launch of StreetLink in December 2012.

Members of the public sent over 3,600 alerts to StreetLink – a website, mobile app and phone line that connects people sleeping rough in England and Wales to local services – over the 24-hour period from the morning of Monday 26 to Tuesday 27 February, as the country continues to experience snow and sub-zero temperatures.

StreetLink typically sees its use peak during periods of extreme weather, but this recent 24-hour period recorded the highest number of rough sleeper alerts since the launch of StreetLink in December 2012. Of the 3,600 alerts received, 2,032 were sent about people sleeping rough in London.

In addition, over the last seven days, more than 13,600 members of the public signed up to the StreetLink Community, as users and supporters of the service.

Matt Harrison, Director of StreetLink, comments:

“Sleeping rough is dangerous and bad for people’s health at any time of year, but naturally it becomes an even greater concern in freezing weather conditions like those we are currently experiencing.

“While local councils, homelessness charities and community groups are doing what they can to provide emergency shelter over this period, overwhelmingly the public are also taking action, by using StreetLink to alert local services when they see someone sleeping out.

“This record number of referrals is inspiring to see and is the first step people can take to ensure individuals sleeping rough receive the support they need to get into the warm and move away from homelessness for good. In 2017, alerts from the public enabled us to connect thousands of rough sleepers to accommodation and support services, and we hope that together we can help even more vulnerable people to get their lives back on track this year.”

StreetLink is asking people to download the app onto their phones, send an alert when they are concerned about someone sleeping rough and tell their friends and colleagues about StreetLink so that more individuals can receive swift support over the remainder of the winter.

Matt Harrison adds: “The more people who know about StreetLink, the more people we can help. The local outreach teams are working incredibly hard, however, with the huge volumes of referrals coming through, we hope the public will understand that it may take slightly longer than usual to feedback to them on the outcome of their referral.”

Watch our latest video on the impact of StreetLink.

StreetLink is a non-profit organisation run by Homeless Link, the national membership charity for homelessness agencies, in partnership with St Mungo’s, a major provider of homelessness services.