During periods of severe cold weather, additional emergency accommodation is provided by councils.
Adverse weather provision is provided when the weather is forecast to be sub zero. At this point the usual guidelines over who the council has a duty to provide emergency accommodations for are lifted, and extra provision is made for rough sleepers, regardless of their status.
This winter, we are aiming to provide A Bed Every Night for people who are rough sleeping in Greater Manchester. Find out more at streetsupport.net/gm.
Councils work in partnership with local organisations and housing providers to make this additional accommodation available, covering the accommodation and staff costs.
People who are sleeping rough in Manchester can access A Bed Every Night through a number of different routes. Details and referral routes are to be confirmed (and may change from what is listed below). Note that there is a high demand for places in Manchester, and referrals made after 7pm are unlikely to be processed until the following day.
Manchester City Council's Outreach service on 07930 867663 or email roughsleepersteam@manchester.gov.uk for advice and support about accommodation options including the Bed for Every Night.
The outreach services email and telephone line will be staffed during the following times:
Outside these times, the Manchester City Council's out of hours service can be contacted on 0161 234 5001.
There are outreach workers covering different areas in the city to connect with people who are rough sleeping and helping them to get inside if they want to. Each individual is assessed so that appropriate accommodation can be found based on their needs.
There could be cases where accommodation providers may feel that they are not able to accommodate someone for example through violent behaviour, but the underlying principles of SWEP mean that every effort is made to find somewhere suitable.
Read more about SWEP