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Greater Manchester to put 1,000 rough sleepers in hotels amid coronavirus outbreak
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has announced it will spend £5m in order to house 1,000 rough sleepers and individuals living in emergency accommodation in hotels amid the coronavirus crisis.
The scheme, which is initially proposed to run for 12 weeks, will involve relocating roughly 720 individuals who are living in shared emergency accommodation as part of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s A Bed Every Night scheme, alongside an estimated 280 who might be expected to sleep rough over the duration of the scheme.
A total of 625 hotel rooms have already been made available to the GMCA, with a further 375 to be sourced in the next 48 hours.
It follows a similar move by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who announced over the weekend that the Greater London Authority has booked 300 hotel rooms for rough sleepers as part of a trial scheme.
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The measures were announced by Mr Burnham following a meeting of the GMCA’s COVID-19 emergency committee.
Mr Burnham said: “I’m announcing extensive plans to support people sleeping rough and in shared temporary accommodation in our city region as a matter of urgency – this is our humanitarian response at a time of a national public health crisis.
“The negative impact street homelessness can have on a person’s mental and physical health is well known, and that is before you take into account the very real risks posed by possibly catching coronavirus.
“We have moved swiftly to work with our 10 local authorities, NHS and the private and faith sectors to source enough accommodation in some of our city region’s large hotels for everyone who needs it.
“We are assisting some people accommodated in A Bed Every Night into these rooms, while others are being supported from the streets or from situations where they are experiencing an imminent risk of sleeping rough.”
Launched in 2017, A Bed Every Night aims to provide regular short-term accommodation for every rough sleeper in Greater Manchester as part of a bid to end rough sleeping in the area.
Mr Burnham said the GMCA would provide essential services, such as food, access to medicines and support, for those living in hotels throughout the outbreak.
On Wednesday, Inside Housing reported that families and individuals living in temporary accommodation in Travelodge hotels had been evicted as the majority of the organisation’s hotels were suddenly closed.
In response to reports, minister for homelessness Luke Hall has written to major hotel firms to tell them that they must remain open if they support people who are homeless.
