How to help a homeless person after rare cold weather health warning issued

It’s a new year, same old winter weather as the UK faces snow, floodingand cold weather health alerts – but our homeless population will be bearing the brunt of the chill.

The UK Health Security Agency has released the alert across England as the start of 2025 sees a bitter cold snap.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings covering nearly all of England and Wales and parts of Scotland for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Around 2 inches of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England.

Councils across the UK will be considering activating the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) – which gets rough sleepers into emergency accommodation when temperatures drop to try and prevent deaths.

But what should you do if you come across a rough sleeper and you’re concerned for their welfare?

How to help homeless people when it’s cold

If you’re in England or Wales, the best thing to do if you see someone who is sleeping rough is to contact Streetlink.

Essentially, this allows you to send an alert to a local outreach service – such as your local authority or a homeless charity, such as St Mungo’s.

They will then be able to locate the person sleeping rough to make sure they know about the support available to them.

You’ll need to provide the exact location of the person you’re worried about by describing the area, as well as pinpointing it on a map – plus what time of day you saw or interacted with them.

You’ll also need to provide a description of their appearance, name, age (if possible) and other identifying characteristics – to help the outreach service identify them.

If you need make contact now, send your Streetlink alert via their website or call 0300 500 0914.

This advice only applies to adults. If the person appears to be under 18, you should contact the police instead.

But always call 999 in an emergency if you believe someone needs immediate medical attention.

Finally, you can contact your local council to make a report or ensure that someone you’ve spotted locally is getting support. Find the best contact number or email address on gov.uk.

Many councils operate a SWEP, so they should have a plan in place to help local homeless people.

Other ways to help the homeless this winter

If you want to do your part in tackling homelessness in the long term, there are other ways to help during winter – and throughout the year.

Donate coats and blankets

Got a coat you never wear? Donate them to a charity like Wrap Up UK.

Not in your area? Find your local homeless shelter, or a similar service, via Homeless Link, or visit the Salvation Army clothing bank to see what they currently need.

Likewise, blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing are much-needed donations.

Offer warm drinks/food

If you want to offer something to a rough sleeper directly, you can always ask if they would like anything to eat or drink.

Speak to them first to ensure it’s something they want or need, and Shelter also says it’s okay to provide blankets, or warm clothing.

If you can’t offer anything, you can always offer a friendly hello, check they’re alright and contact Streetlink.

Donate to a charity or volunteer

Alternatively, you can make a donation to a homelessness charity, which will go towards providing shelter and food.

There are a number of UK charities you can donate to, including (but not limited to):

Many of these charities may be open to volunteers who have time, rather than money, to spare.

Visit their official websites above for further details on what’s needed.

Another way to help is by subscribing to The Big Issue, a magazine working to end homelessness.

Often, homeless people will work as vendors for the magazine – you can buy issues directly from them, or subscribe online.

This article was originally published on December 4, 2023

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