Help for rough sleepers

Porchlight is a Kent-based charity helping vulnerable and homeless people access housing and other support services.

If you are homeless, in temporary accommodation, sofa surfing, facing eviction or know anyone who is, please call the homelessness referral line, weekdays 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm:

• freephone: 0300 365 7699
• website: Porchlight Rough Sleeper Service (opens in new tab)

Dover Outreach Centre works to help homeless people find their way back to independence.

The charity offers a wide range of services including:

• advice and signposting for benefits and accommodation
• addiction rehabilitation
• mental health therapy
• winter night shelter
• CV writing
• job search
• family liaison
• training for work

Address: Victory House, 170 Snargate Street, Dover CT17 9BZ

Phone: 01304 339022

Website: www.doveroutreachcentre.org (opens in new tab)

• Crisis UK (opens in new tab)
• Sunrise Cafe Dover | HOME | England (opens in new tab)
• Homeless England | Homeless Link (opens in new tab)
• Homelessness advice - Shelter England (opens in new tab)

SWEP is put in place to protect people sleeping rough from life‑threatening weather conditions. It is not designed to operate all year round, but to prevent serious harm or death during periods of extreme cold.

When SWEP is triggered, we act quickly to offer safe, warm accommodation to anyone sleeping rough who may be at risk during severe cold weather.

We activate SWEP when:

• night‑time temperatures are forecast to be 0°C or below, or
• other severe weather conditions (such as heavy snow, strong winds or freezing rain) are predicted.

During cold weather, we check the Dover forecast every day using the Met Office website.

When SWEP is triggered:

• we notify our voluntary and statutory partners with details of who to contact if they identify any rough sleepers
• our out‑of‑hours service is also informed.

SWEP is different from normal homelessness rules.

Rough sleepers do not have to prove eligibility for help, for example benefit entitlement, priority need or local connection.

A person will be offered help if they:

• are at risk if they continue sleeping outside
• have nowhere safe and warm to stay (cars, sheds and garages do not count as indoors)
• agree to accept the support offered by us.

Some people who sleep rough may feel wary of services and will be less likely to engage. However, extreme cold can be life‑threatening. If someone repeatedly refuses help, we may need to refer them to other services, such as mental health support, to ensure they stay safe.

If a rough sleeper meets the above criteria, they will be offered emergency accommodation for the duration of the severe weather.

• during office hours we will manage the emergency accommodation bookings, which can be made by emailing housing.options@dover.gov.uk
• outside of office hours, members of the Homelessness Forum can contact our out of hours service on 01304 821199 to arrange emergency accommodation bookings.

Accommodation will be confirmed before midday on a day-to-day basis.

Everyone placed into SWEP accommodation will be referred to Porchlight or another suitable service for ongoing support.

We review the weather forecast daily. Once the minimum temperature is predicted to rise above 0°C, SWEP ends and emergency accommodation stops.

Rough sleepers will then be offered housing options advice to help deal with their longer term issue of homelessness.

The cost of providing emergency housing during SWEP is covered by existing council resources.

We record the following information to help understand and monitor the extent of rough sleeping in the district:

• the number and type of rough sleeper households using SWEP
• how many nights they stayed
• the cost of emergency accommodation per night for each rough sleeper.

SWEP is reviewed by the housing options manager on an annual basis. This is carried out in consultation with our partner organisations working with rough sleepers.

Although rare, if any incidents of anti-social or unacceptable behaviour are shown during SWEP, the housing options manager will review the assistance being provided to see if there are any alternative ways to prevent rough sleeping during the severe weather while at the same time managing the risks.