Do you have a building we can use overnight to help rough sleepers?

We are looking for help to provide more safe places for people to stay overnight. The council’s SWEP (severe weather emergency protocol shelter) opens when weather conditions are extreme and likely to put people at risk if they are outside overnight. SWEP is open to all who need it to provide a place to sleep and an evening meal as well as hot drinks and snacks. When open, SWEP operates from 7pm to 7am. More information about SWEP is on the council website

 

Do you have a building or hall we could use overnight to provide shelter for some of the most vulnerable people in our city? The service is fully staffed and resourced. People who are rough sleeping are provided with bedding and food. All we need is more space in buildings that have toilet facilities available. 

 

The use of the building is needed at nighttime during SWEP opening hours and would not impact on daytime operations. If you can help or would like to find out more please contact us by email.

 

We are currently using Brighton Town Hall as the main SWEP building and open extra venues when demand rises. In these cold months, we want to make sure we have as many places as possible for people in need and we are putting a call out to see anyone has a suitable space available. 

 

Councillor Nichole Brennan, lead for rough sleeping , said: “If you can help please get in touch. We’re doing all we can to help people who are living rough on our streets. They need compassion and support to rebuild their lives and the least we can do is help provide shelter on the coldest nights. SWEP is one part of a range of services we have in place to support vulnerable people to move away from the streets. We work with partners across the city to help those in need and we welcome support from residents and businesses.”

When SWEP is due to open, outreach workers go out to let rough sleepers know, information is shared on social media by the council and partner agencies also help share the word.