A week in the life of… a StreetLink phone line leader

Tuesday

Today I focused on managing the web and app alerts through our online dashboard. Each alert about people sleeping rough in London (we receive around 150 a day currently) is checked to ensure it contains enough quality information to enable the outreach team to find the person. This prevents the teams becoming inundated and makes their shifts more effective, with more people able to be located. As part of this, I followed up with members of the public to obtain extra details on the location of the person they had seen.

Wednesday

Among today’s routine calls, I had to manage the expectations of those who had misunderstood that StreetLink is not an accommodation provider or emergency service, and cannot immediately go out and take people somewhere warm. Although local authorities provide extra support, sometimes people are missed, which is understandably upsetting and frustrating. I find it hard as well, particularly when helping to get people in from the cold could be a matter of life or death. We always ask people to call 999 in a medical emergency.

I also spoke to a homelessness professional who believed that a StreetLink alert can replace the normal referral routes in to services, which unfortunately it cannot.

Thursday

During the pandemic, calls from self-referrers seeking support have shot up, and today I spoke to someone who is new to rough sleeping, having lost his job and then his home as a result of the pandemic. These calls are always tough, with people often distressed and support options limited, but I felt I was able to provide helpful information and reassurance, and put through an alert to start this man’s support journey away from the streets.

In the afternoon, I spent time supporting a couple of our brilliant volunteers. Because of the nature of our work, this is very important to make sure they are not put at risk. However, offering proper support is harder while we are working remotely, and we have decided to reduce volunteer numbers, relying mostly on our small staff team. In future we hope to recruit more volunteers as they’re invaluable to our service, ultimately helping ensure more people receive support.

Friday

I followed up with several outreach teams today, as people who had called us previously to self-refer were still waiting to be found at their sleep sites or had moved to a different location. I also chased feedback on alert outcomes so that members of the public could be updated on the action taken as a result. It’s important for them to know that they – and the service – can make a difference.

On the whole, my role is intense, but it’s also so rewarding. The team are there 24/7 for people experiencing an incredibly difficult situation and are able to provide practical information, as well as connecting them to the local services that can help.

If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering for StreetLink, please visit: www.mungos.org/contact-us/streetlink/