Rough sleepers: Staying in hotels made us feel like normal people

ROUGH SLEEPERS say staying in hotels in Sheffield during the pandemic made them feel like “normal people” with regular meals and a television.

Councils were told to provide accommodation for rough sleepers during the first lockdown last March and Sheffield Council placed 196 people in emergency accommodation.

Housing officer Zoe Young told a scrutiny meeting there had been a lot of positive comments. She said: “One person said I’ve just felt like a normal person. We also got comments like it’s really good that I don’t have to go into town on a Saturday or a Sunday, because if I do that my dealer gives me an extra bag and basically I’m hooked again but I don’t have to do that now.”

Tim Renshaw, chief executive of the Cathedral Archer homeless project, said there was competition to get into the hotels but some rough sleepers had struggled adapting.

He said the Archer Project offered a seven-day service throughout the pandemic with the support of other services. “All of the voluntary sectors, including some of the soup kitchens, worked together to make sure there was a contact point and, this is a really essential point, because while people were going into hotels, some were leaving very quickly,” he added.

Mr Renshaw said there was an adjustment period which groups had to make.

He added: “Bed and breakfast is normally temporary accommodation but there was competition to get into hotels because actually you get better service.”