Milton Keynes City Council is urging people sleeping rough to come in as the weather gets colder.
Earlier this year, the City Council opened a new shelter at the former bus station in Central Milton Keynes which can provide overnight accommodation and support services for up to 18 people who would otherwise be sleeping rough.
Before the opening of the shelter, the City Council previously issued ‘Severe Weather Emergency Protocol’ (SWEP) alerts and opened additional emergency accommodation for people sleeping rough in freezing temperatures or extremely warm weather.
The new shelter means that SWEP no longer needs to be activated as there is accommodation available all year round no matter the weather. Since opening, a secure home has been found for more than 30 rough sleepers, with nearly 100 people using the shelter. Former rough sleepers stay for a short period before accessing further assistance.
MK City Council encourages people to report anyone they think might be sleeping rough via Streetlink so support can be offered.
“In this cold weather we are reminding rough sleepers that there’s accommodation available for people sleeping rough all year round and we’re working really hard to encourage people to take up the offer. It’s not always as straightforward as people often have complex reasons they became homeless and need additional time before accepting help.
“No one in our city needs to be sleeping rough and we’ll continue with our outreach work, offering both accommodation and support to end rough sleeping for good in MK.”