{"id":14690,"date":"2018-02-27T16:19:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T16:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=14690"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:59:08","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:59:08","slug":"deathly-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=14690","title":{"rendered":"Deathly cold"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

For many of us, the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest cold snap \u00e2\u20ac\u201c dubbed the Beast from the East \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is an inconvenience of travel delays, school cancellations and slippery roads. But for those sleeping rough, even one night of sub-zero temperatures can be fatal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day, a homeless man was found dead<\/a> in the morning in an underpass at Westminster Tube station just opposite the Houses of Parliament after temperatures had dropped below freezing the night before.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

During the holiday period, when families were out doing their Christmas shopping, a man sleeping rough<\/a> outside a shopping centre in Birmingham died after a night when temperatures dropped to -1C.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And just last week, Rob O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Connor of Chelmsford died in front of a shop door after a night of sub-zero weather. Although he had been suffering from health problems before \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he had just undergone surgery for cancer \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a friend who was also sleeping rough said the streets had been bitterly cold in the last few days.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I was devastated when I heard the news,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Connor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friend Ross Miller told the BBC<\/a>. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe could be a pain, but he was all right. He was a nice bloke.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI wish I had somewhere to go,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added, highlighting the cold weather. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI don’t like sitting here, I really don’t.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In response to the latest period of cold weather, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has opened emergency shelters to ensure those sleeping rough have somewhere warm to sleep \u00e2\u20ac\u201c an intervention that could save hundreds of lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Across the UK, local authorities can decide to activate similar special Severe Weather Protocol measures which enable them to provide emergency shelter for rough sleepers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Whether through charities, local authorities or both, helping rough sleepers during a cold snap is heavily dependent on support from members of the public.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In England and Wales, people can get in touch with the national referral service StreetLink<\/a>, which is funded by other charities such as St. Mungo’s. You can provide details of people you encounter sleeping rough so volunteer groups on nightly patrols can make contact with them and link them up with emergency accommodation and other local services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Local branches of Unite Community have spearheaded multiple campaigns in support of rough sleepers. Recently, Unite Community protested Gloucester, a Tory council, when it put up posters demonising homeless people. <\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other groups have knitted gloves and scarves for rough sleepers during the winter, and many Unite Community members take an active role in supporting the homeless through, for example, volunteering at soup kitchens.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Community co-ordinator Liane Groves told UNITElive that rough sleeping is a scourge that is the direct result of austerity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe massive surge in rough sleeping did not arrive by accident \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s increased in lockstep with specific government policies such as changes to the benefits system; revoking housing benefit for under-25s; and changes to Universal Credit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe lack of provision at shelters mean that at some hostels \u00e2\u20ac\u201c where violence and drugs are prevalent \u00e2\u20ac\u201c many who are homeless feel unsafe and would rather risk it on the streets.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhile we welcome the great work that charities do, the gaps in the system cannot be funded by charities alone. State-backed provision \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a properly funded social safety net \u00e2\u20ac\u201c needs to be in place to stop people falling through the cracks and sleeping rough.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out more about how you can get involved with Unite Community and its campaigns in support of the homeless here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many of us, the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s latest cold snap \u00e2\u20ac\u201c dubbed the Beast from the East \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is an inconvenience of travel delays, school cancellations and slippery roads. But for those sleeping rough, even one night of sub-zero temperatures can be fatal.   This Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day, a homeless man was found dead in the morning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[179,180,232],"wps_subtitle":"Rough sleepers at risk during cold snap","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14690"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14690"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26367,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14690\/revisions\/26367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}