FAQ Coronavirus response I have seen someone sleeping rough – how can I help them? If you see someone you think is under 18, or is an adult in immediate danger or needing urgent medical care you should call 999. If you are concerned about an adult you have seen sleeping rough you can contact Streetlink. They send your report to us or another suitable outreach service in the area and the person will be connected to support. Visit their website for telephone number and an app. Donating goods EMERGENCY GOODS DONATION PROCESS IN RESPONSE TO CORONAVIRUS In response advice and guidance for minimising the impact of, and risk posed by coronavirus to our guests, volunteers and staff we are currently not asking for any goods. Volunteering Due to the coronavirus pandemic we have asked our dedicated and passionate volunteers to stand down until we are able to safely invite them back to their roles. We look forward to being able to open our volunteer application process again soon. Follow us on social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or sign up on our website for our newsletter (link at bottom of page) to stay in touch to hear about opportunities. Why have you shut the night shelter? In the light of guidance on responding to coronovirus, we took the difficult decision to close our winter night shelter from Monday 9th March and put all current guests into alternative local accommodation to keep them safe and secure. Evidence suggests that our guests are relatively low risk for catching the virus but could be badly affected if they do. People who sleep rough often have compromised immune systems because of stress, lack of sleep and other health issues. Our staff and volunteers are more likely to be exposed to the virus in the first instance and could pass the virus to our guests. This is why we are trying to limit contact between our staff, volunteers and our guests at this time. Many of our volunteers also fall into the higher risk categories in terms of catching and being badly affected by the virus. Our night shelter runs like a dormitory and continuing to run it would mean guests, staff and volunteers would be in close proximity with each other for extended periods. We decided to shut the shelter and put our guests into alternative accommodation where all risks would be lowered. We will continue to work with them, keep them sheltered and give them other essentials like food and clothing. We have a risk-based approach to our work at all times and we are working with regard to latest official advice on the health situation. These are extraordinary circumstances but our ongoing, year-round work is always about ensuring the health and safety of our clients, guests, volunteers and staff. See Homeless Link for some of the sector specific guidance we are following. What is happening to your other services? You will notice changes at our Support Centre, legal drop-in and other services. We are aiming to continue to run our services for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with as little disruption as possible but delivered in a way which helps to keep people safe. Please be patient with any changes we need to make to do this. We have a risk-based approach to our work at all times and we are working with regard to latest official advice on the health situation. In some ways these are extraordinary circumstances but on the other hand homelessness is always an extremely risky situation for people to find themselves in and looking after the health and the safety of our clients is always central to the on-going year round work we carry out. Look here for the latest on our services.