Cold weather action

Cold weather action

2019-01-20 Off By Editor

Lots of people have mentioned that when it gets cold they sometimes see vulnerable people sleeping rough and wonder what they can do to help them.

Islington Council recently published a report on what it is doing about the complex problem of homelessness.

The report contains quite valuable information that should be useful to anyone who encounters someone vulnerable who is sleeping rough and might want to help them out.

I thought it would be useful to share this advice here, as I know people have asked for this kind of information during meetings.

What can I do?

  •  Talk to the person. Being kind and interested can be invaluable.
  • Consider donating to a homeless charity or a night shelter in Islington or Haringey.
  • If you see someone new rough sleeping, report this to Streetlink giving as much detail as you can on their location and a description of the person to help the team identify them.
  • Buy a copy of The Big Issue magazine from a registered vendor.
  • Signpost people to relevant services and day centres, including the below where they can get help.
  • Consider volunteering your time with a local organisation to help those on the streets.
  •  If you see drug dealing/drug related activity – please report this to the Police via 101.

Useful Contacts

These are the agencies the council document recommends, though we also recommend putting people in contact with Streets Kitchen.

  • Streetlink: www.streetlink.org/ 0300 500 0914
  • Thames Reach: www.thamesreach.org.uk/ 020 7702 4260
  • St. Mungo’s: www.mungos.org 020 3856 6000
  • Women at the Well: www.watw.org.uk/ 020 7520 1710
  • All People All Places (Haringey), all-year round casework with overnight respite in winter: www.allpeopleallplaces.org
  • The Margins Day Centre – held at Union Chapel, 19b Compton Terrace, N1 2UN on Wednesday from 11am until 2pm.
  • The Manna Day Centre – held at St Stephens Church, 17 Canonbury Rd, London N1 2DF on Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm, Wednesday 1pm to 3pm and Friday 9am -11am.
  • Housing Aid centre at 222 Upper St, London N1 1YA for advice on housing options available to you – there is a drop in service on Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm
  • Report any aggressive begging/anti-social behaviour to the local policing team by e-mailing NI-Finsburyparkward@met.police.uk or telephoning 0203 276 3030. In an emergency always call 999
  • Report any non-crime related anti-social behaviour occurring to your area housing office or Islington Council’s out-of-hours ASB line: 020 7527 7272, Haringey Council’s ASB line: 020 8489 1335 http://www.haringey.gov.uk/community/community-safety-and-engagement/anti-social- behaviour

Finally, we’d like to thank PlusLexia.com for the image. This is an organisation that helps motivate young dyslexics by sharing positive stories and really useful insights about living and thriving in life with dyslexia.

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