Published Wednesday 28 February 2018 at 16:20
There is emergency help and support available for vulnerable people rough sleeping in the borough including an emergency helpline that people can call if they are concerned about someone.
Much work is done by the Council and charities across the borough to help rough sleepers throughout the year – but when the weather is so cold it puts people at greater risk.
Thankfully there is a lot of preventative work that takes place on a daily basis which means that rough sleeping isn’t a significant issue for the borough. It is therefore all the more important for anyone who see’s someone they are concerned about to report the issue or sign post the person to where they can get help.
Sadly we also see street begging. The council has a campaign with Partners and charities to provide support for street beggars. In many instances street beggars have secure accommodation and welfare support. They use street begging as a means to get money to feed habits such as alcoholism or drugs. We would urge people not to give money to street beggars but to support our designated charities and if you feel concern, then to report the matter to the council.
Cllr Arshid Mahmood, Executive Member for Neighbourhood and Prevention Services for Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said:
The Council commissions the Salvation Army to provide overnight accommodation, warm food and drinks to those with no secure accommodation until we can work with the individuals to secure longer term accommodation.
We have also provided camp beds, duvets and pillows to ensure people have a comfortable place to stay.
If anyone is homeless and finds themselves at risk of sleeping rough they should ring the Council’s emergency out of hour’s number: 07739454978 or they can go to their local Police Station where they will be directed to the Council’s out of hours service.
Mr Mahmood added:
Yesterday we received a report of somebody rough sleeping in Blackburn, within six minutes of receiving the notification from StreetLink we were with the person to offer shelter, advice and support.
What can you do to help?
If you see someone sleeping rough you can ring the emergency number above or send an alert to StreetLink www.streetlink.org.uk where details will be passed to the Council.
Anyone can report a homeless person sleeping on dangerously cold streets.
The Street Link organisation works to send alerts to local councils across the country about concerns raised regarding rough sleepers.
The Council via specialist outreach teams actively work with people perceived to be begging on the streets to help them secure accommodation whilst providing advice and support.
Last year the Council had more than 2,600 enquiries from people requiring assistance. During that time Housing officers secured alternative accommodation for around 1,000 people including families, couples and individuals.