Service ‘much better than five years ago’
A BED Every Night runs all year round, but additional capacity is created when the weather gets colder and more people accept the offer of accommodation.
Working with homelessness charities, outreach teams from each local authority identify rough sleepers on early morning walks and offer help.
However, often fearing for their safety, some are reluctant to accept this offer.
“There were things in the early days we didn’t get right with A Bed Every Night in its first incarnation,” Mr Burnham told a press conference in November.
“It was very basic, very dormitory based. We’re much better today than we were five years ago.”
When the emergency accommodation scheme was rapidly rolled out in 2018, it could only offer rough sleepers a bed in night shelters shared with strangers.
But Covid was a ‘gamechanger’, according to one insider, who explained that after the government funded rooms for each rough sleeper, things changed.
Now, with the exception of one shelter in Tameside, all A Bed Every Night accommodation across Greater Manchester offers single rooms to people.
There is also now a women-only site and a scheme for LGBT+ individuals.
A Bed Every Night also accommodates non-UK nationals and people with No Recourse to Public Funds, relying on donations through the mayor’s charity.
Anyone who is worried about someone sleeping rough in Greater Manchester can alert the relevant local council online through their websites. Alternatively, referrals can be made through the StreetLink app or by calling 0300 500 0914.