London opens emergency shelters for rough sleepers in freezing weather

Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-14 00:31:45|Editor: Mu Xuequan
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LONDON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Emergency shelters across London were opened Thursday for the first time this winter as temperatures hit freezing.

Mayor Sadiq Khan called for the shelters to open to help people who sleep on the streets in the British capital.

Khan and London councils have agreed that from this year shelters will open London-wide if the temperature is predicted to drop below zero anywhere in the capital. Previously, shelters were opened on a borough-by-borough basis.

Mayor Khan said: "As the temperatures plummet tonight, all emergency shelters across London will be open. Our approach means shelters will now open London-wide if it falls below zero anywhere in the capital, helping us get more rough sleepers off the streets and into support to help turn their lives around."

Last month Khan launched a rough sleeping campaign fundraising for the London Homeless Charities Group, a coalition of charities working to tackle rough sleeping. It enables people to use new contactless donation points across London.

Recent figures revealed that 3,103 people were found sleeping rough in London between July and September 2018, the first time levels have risen to over 3,000 in a single quarter. The numbers revealed an increase in rough sleepers of 20 percent on the previous quarter and an increase of 17 percent on the same period last year.

Over the same period outreach teams recorded 1,382 people sleeping rough for the first time, a rise of 28 percent on the previous period and 20 percent on the same period last year.

Jon Sparkes, CEO of homeless charity, Crisis said: "This appalling spike in the number of people forced to sleep rough in London is a disaster for every single person experiencing life on the streets. Across the capital, local authorities are struggling with increasing numbers of people new to the streets, which is why the root causes of the problem must be tackled."

Sparkes said 449 homeless people died in Britain in 2017, many of whom were living on the streets.

"Rough sleeping ruins lives and, with winter approaching, the consequences of ending up on the streets become more and more devastating," he added.

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