Overnight shelter opens in Liverpool as temperatures plummet

Liverpool Council has opened night shelters for the homeless as the city experiences temperatures below zero.

The new overnight facility will open at 8.00pm until 7.30am and will operate everyday until March 3, as part of Liverpool Council's Severe Weather Emergency Protocol.

Temperatures in Liverpool this week dropped to as low as -4°C, with snow falling in the early hours of Tuesday and Thursday.

The new hub is close to the city centre, and provides essential amenities to rough sleepers, as well as separate rooms for men and women to assess their housing and support needs. Those assessed as sleeping rough will be able to stay the night until accommodation is sourced or another solution is presented.

The council said it has worked with a number of partners to create a range of solutions to rough sleeping, including additional hotel rooms and 'sit-up' spaces in the city.

Recently Liverpool has been dealing with a homelessness emergency with factors including rising evictions and a lack of housing playing a huge part.

In November, Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council wrote to the government to ask for extra funding to aid in the fight against the crisis.

Speaking about the newly opened hub Cllr Sarah Doyle, Cabinet member for Housing, said: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to work with the Whitechapel Centre to provide this assessment facility over the winter. As the number of people sleeping rough has risen, it became clear that we needed to assess them in a safe space.

“This is not a night shelter anyone can just walk into, it’s a dedicated resource focused on helping to identify the needs of an individual and getting them into accommodation, where required, and other services as quickly as possible.

“It’s not the only service we provide and will complement the other elements of our winter plan and other rough sleeping services, but I want to be clear – this won’t stop the problem of rough sleeping.

“Myself and the Council Leader are absolutely committed to highlighting the homelessness issues facing Liverpool to Government and we’ll continue to do so, as the measures needed to address this problem are deep rooted and cannot be solved by any one council or organisation.

“We have a long term plan to address homelessness, but we need support to achieve the progress everyone wants to see.”