A leading homeless charity has said "more must be done" to support rough sleepers.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in the past five years, 22 rough sleepers have died on the streets of St Helens - with five of these coming in the past year. As some homeless deaths may go unrecorded, the ONS estimate the actual figure could be considerably higher than this.
Figures estimate at least 38 homeless people died in Merseyside in 2021. That figure was down from 44 deaths in 2020, but almost three times higher than the 15 homeless deaths estimated in 2013, when these figures were first collected.
READ MORE: 'The cold snaps your face' - the reality of sleeping rough in a brutal Liverpool winter
With much of the region experiencing sub-zero temperatures over the past week, Nick Dyer, manager of Teardrops homeless charity believes these deaths "need to be addressed." He told the ECHO: "The temperature has plummeted over the last few days and it must be extremely hard and dangerous for anyone sleeping rough. There have been deaths caused by sleeping rough in extreme temperatures in St Helens and this needs to be addressed.
"There is no overnight shelter in St Helens so rough sleepers need to work with the local services and housing options, this is great during office hours but when people turn up after office hours at our night café it is very difficult to get people placed."
Mr Dyer believes that we may see more homeless people on the streets in the coming months. He added: "As the cost of living hits everyone we fear that our service will be required more and more over the coming months.
"Cold weather provisions are made available in each region for anyone sleeping rough details can be found on the local authority websites.
"Support is available to those sleeping rough and we would urge people to report anyone they see sleeping rough to the local council or via www.streetlink.org.uk who will help members of the public to connect people sleeping rough with the local services that can support them.
"Also they can contact services like Teardrops who can then assist them, make use of local food pantries and access warm spaces during the day."
St Helens Council said it is "working tirelessly" to reduce the number of rough sleepers. Councillor Jeanie Bell, St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Safer Stronger Communities, said: “Homelessness has a profoundly damaging impact on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing, with many individuals experiencing untreated and undiagnosed health issues, while also being more at risk of harmful drug and alcohol use.
“It’s why we work tirelessly with our partners to ensure no one in the borough is either forced to sleep rough or left homeless and is given the best possible support to improve their circumstances.
“Prevention is also a priority, and our Housing Options and Advice Team and Early Intervention Teams are working with families and individuals who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness, with pressure increasing as residents across the borough face the cost-of-living crisis."
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