SWEP activated due to hot weather
Our Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been activated today (Friday 27 June) as temperatures continue to rise.
This will remain in place until 9am on Wednesday 2 July and will be reviewed at that point.
SWEP is a humanitarian response to provide support to rough sleepers in periods of severe weather conditions.
Support for rough sleepers
In hot weather such as we have now, we work with local charities to provide practical support and advice to rough sleepers. Rentstart’s outreach team is providing refillable water bottles, suncream, hats and safety advice to people on the streets and anyone who needs support.
If there are people sleeping rough in Elmbridge, temporary accommodation can be provided, which is likely to either be in a local hostel or in a bed and breakfast.
Get help for a rough sleeper
If you are aware of a rough sleeper during the daytime, they may be referred to Elmbridge Civic Centre in Esher. Our office hours are 8.45am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am to 4.45pm on Fridays. Our homelessness prevention and advice team will interview the person and arrange for temporary accommodation for a limited period and carry out an interview to try and prevent repeat rough sleeping.
Our out of hours service can be contacted outside of office hours or over the weekend on 0300 123 7718.
Alternatively, if you have concerns about a rough sleeper in Elmbridge requiring support, you can also contact Rentstart (via hello@rentstart.org or calling 01372 477167) or by reporting via Streetlink.
The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) aims to ensure that vulnerable people are protected when weather conditions can threaten the safety and wellbeing of rough sleepers in Elmbridge.
We activate our Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) when the weather forecast shows the temperature is set to drop to zero degrees celsius or below for at least 3 consecutive days. We also consider implementing SWEP when exceptionally cold or inclement weather is forecast that falls short of this definition.
During SWEP if there are rough sleepers or street homeless people in Elmbridge, temporary accommodation can be provided for the SWEP period. This would be local assessment bed/night shelter provision, or bed breakfast accommodation if the assessment bed/night shelter is not available.
Get help for a rough sleeper during SWEP
You can let us know about a rough sleeper in Elmbridge by:
- downloading the Streetlink app
- calling Streetlink on 0300 500 0914
- contacting us during office hours (8:45am to 4:45pm) on 01372 474590 or email housingoptions@elmbridge.gov.uk
- contacting our out of hours service on 0300 123 7718 outside of office hours and at weekends
When contacting us, please provide as much information as possible about the location of the individual you are calling about.
Even when SWEP is in place, we cannot forcefully intervene to provide an individual with support and accommodation. Some people refuse help and this is their right.