Homeless workers need 'resilience' over winter

The manager of a team that looks after people rough sleeping has described the "resilience" her staff must display during the winter.

Wendy Dodds, from St Mungo's in Reading, Berkshire, said they had sought out homeless people in temperatures as low as -8C over recent weeks.

Local authorities across the south have activated their Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which means free emergency accommodation is available to everyone.

The protocol comes into effect when temperatures are set to fall below zero for at least three nights in a row.

Dodds said: "We go out, we find people rough sleeping and in partnership with Reading Borough Council and the Salvation Army we place them into emergency accommodation.

"It sounds easy but we have to go out in sub-zero temperatures at 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock in the morning.

"The other day it was -8C and we were coming across people who were rough sleeping. People could die in this weather."

She added: "It's difficult. You have to have a lot of resilience, emotional resilience to manage this."

Those who come across homeless people who are not being housed or in SWEP accommodation during cold weather can use the StreetLink app to report them to agencies and charities.

Additional reporting by Lexie Gutteridge