With temperatures now plummeting well below zero, there are sadly still people sleeping rough on the streets of Liverpool.
Last week we spoke to several men sleeping in doorways and in tents in conditions most of us could never imagine. The city council has now launched its Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which means special arrangements are put in place to protect those sleeping rough and get them into accomodation.
That outreach service is run by the Whitechapel charity, who are working hard to find people who are on the streets safe shelter. But questions are also being asked about the fact Liverpool no longer has a single central shelter for people to turn up at and seek shelter in the cold and icy winter.
Such a facility did exist up until 2020. In 2017 the city council opened up Labre House, an overnight homeless shelter in Camden Street. The facility was run by the Whitechapel Centre on behalf of the local authority and it opened with a promise - that everyone, regardless of their circumstances would be welcome inside.
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But Labre House was closed in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, with it not deemed safe to keep people in such close, communal quarters. There were plans to replace it with a new facility, but this never happened.
In March 2021, the council approved plans for a new first-step accommodation centre for rough sleepers that would have seen a student housing block on Smithdown Lane converted to provide accommodation to support short-term homeless recovery in the city.
The project was set to be funded by the council and the government and was aimed at being the 'first step' for those sleeping rough on their journey towards long term accommodation
But earlier this year it became clear the plans were no longer happening - and the government support for them had been withdrawn. Budget papers from earlier this year stated: "For 2020/21 the approved budget for this scheme represented £4.054M of funding from the first tranche of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Next Steps Accommodation Programme combined with City Council matched funding of £6.393M.
"The funding was to be used to support short-term homeless recovery. i.e., 60 self-contained en-suite bedrooms with clustered kitchen and lounge facilities as well as up to 40 one bed apartments. The scheme was unable to progress, however, within the timescales detailed in the grant funding agreement and the budget was rolled forward from 2020/21 into 2021/22."
The report added: "The project officer has advised that due to project complexities it has meant that grant funding timelines could not be met and thus funding has been formally withdrawn by MHCLG."
When we asked the council to explain, earlier this year, why the project had fallen through and the government money returned, a spokesperson said: "It is deeply unfortunate that the council was unable to progress with the Smithdown Lane project. The funding timescales were very tight and once it became clear that building could not be used, the council was unable to identify an alternative building within the deadline."
The council said that while the plans had not materialised, it would be working with partners to create first-step accommodation for rough sleepers - such as the YMCA.
But with winter now here, some homeless campaigners remain deeply unhappy that the mix-up of earlier in the year means there is not a single, central homeless shelter for people to seek refuge in.
Michelle Langan runs the Papercup Project homeless charity and Papercup Coffee shop in the city. She said: "From our perspective, it's a real shame that the shelter in Liverpool wasn't continued. When Labre House closed, the council were given funding by the government to procure premises for a new shelter, which they were unable to do, and the money was handed back. At the time, I voiced concern about this, as I knew what the result would be once winter bit.
"We are seeing rising figures in the number of people who are homeless, as the council themselves have mentioned, and having a shelter which was available to people regardless of their status previously saved lives, there is no doubt about that.
"Some of our customers who are homeless do tell us that there is nowhere they can go - we are seeing people who have no connection to Liverpool who are ineligible for help, and have to sleep rough. Previously, they would have been welcome to stay at Labre House."
She added: "It's a real concern at the moment that people are out in these awful conditions - if a pet was tied up outside in the snow, people would be outraged, yet it has somehow become normalised that people are outside sleeping in the snow and ice. Liverpool was a city which said 'all welcome' and Labre House may not have been perfect but it offered a space that was out of the elements. It's a great loss that we have no permanent shelter in the city, and I do worry. This is the start of winter, conditions won't get any better."
But despite the concerns about the lack of a main city shelter, the Whitechapel Centre's head of fundraising Ruth McCauley insisted that the current arrangements mean there is room to get everyone inside and out of the freezing conditions.
She said: "During the severe weather period, it is about getting everyone inside, so some of the usual rules including no recourse to public funds don't apply and we are able to get everyone into emergency accommodation.
"While Labre House was an important service, it was a large communal space and after the pandemic we shouldn’t return to that kind of accommodation, but we do have first-step accommodation in Liverpool, through two new supported accommodation schemes, a number of ring-fenced hostel beds and bed and breakfast places. So while there isn't one venue, there are multiple options and our outreach team can find the most appropriate accommodation for each individual.
"I would like to thank the public because we have already had hundreds of calls from people about rough sleepers since the protocol was activated - and we have placed 27 people into emergency accommodation already.
"The bigger issue we have is how to move people on from emergency accommodation and the lack of private rented and social housing available for people experiencing homelessness. Unless people are moving out of emergency accommodation at the other end and into more long-term properties then we could struggle with the beds we have."
Anyone who is worried about someone sleeping rough in Liverpool is urged to call the Whitechapel outreach team on 03001232041. You can also make an online referral to the Whitechapel Centre here.
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