I felt it might be of interest to your readers that over the past winter New Hope has run SWEP (Severe Weather Emergency Protocol) on 18 occasions and over the last week in February SWEP ran for eight consecutive nights. SWEP is a national initiative that sees local authorities offer additional emergency beds for rough sleepers in periods of severe weather and New Hope operates SWEP on behalf of Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council. Thirty-nine rough sleepers accessed the service and, most importantly, no one was turned away. During the most severe weather, an extra 10 beds of emergency accommodation were also provided in partnership with St Mary’s Church in the town centre. Seven individuals were able to use the service as a springboard to access suitable alternative accommodation and are no longer sleeping on the streets of Watford.

New Hope continues to work intensively with those who remain on the streets to help them move out of homelessness. Our staff and volunteers work 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The outreach service makes contact with those who are sleeping rough and encourages people to use the services provided by the Rough Sleeping Prevention Service, and the Intervention Team, has played a major role in significantly reducing rough sleeping in Watford over the last year.

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough in Watford, please call New Hope’s 24/7 emergency phone line 0300 012 0168. There is also more information about our ongoing work with those experiencing homelessness on our website, www.newhope.org.uk

Finally, I would like to convey our appreciation to the community for their wonderful ongoing support of New Hope, not only during the recent very cold weather, but over almost three decades.

Matthew Heasman

Chief executive, New Hope