Tag: accommodation

Leeds – Support for rough sleepers and homeless

Together with the Leeds Street Support Delivery Team and partners out on the streets in the day and night, outreach work is continuing across the city directly engaging with those in need. The city council is continuing to offer people that are sleeping rough or homeless a variety of help which includes access to permanent and overnight accommodation provided by charities, free food and tailored specialised assistance for those with addiction or other health needs.

The city is also supporting two initiatives called Covid-19 Protect and Covid-19 Care which aim to further support those without permanent accommodation during the crisis. The City is working with housing providers to identify suitable locations for people to self-isolate in should they start showing symptoms. And if further care is needed additional facilities have been identified and made available.

Contact: Titus Carey

Edinburgh – Triple shelter partnership

“10,000 bed spaces to 730 unique individuals over the last 200 nights” is the outcome reached together by Edinburgh’s city council and Bethany Christian Trust. The volunteers and the Council staff receive now help from the Old Waverley Hotel, where they can have temporary accomodation while receiving support and advices. The hotel is also offering three meals a day for those in need thanks to many anonymous volunteers. Read more here

Contact: Karen Lloyd

Madrid – Hotel for homeless with mild symptoms

Madrid city council, together with the regional government and the Red Cross, has arranged a hotel for 120 homeless people with mild coronavirus symptoms. Health professionals are monitoring their health. Rooms are equipped with tablets so that patients can reach the support team of social workers, psychologist and doctors. The initiative is part of the Homeless Emergency Plan of the city council. Read more here (in Spanish)

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Madrid – Prepaid food cards for families

The Madrid City Council has established public-private partnerships to provide families in need with prepaid cards to buy food and basic necessities in the corona crisis. CaixaBank, through its Social Action and in collaboration with Obra Social La Caixa, has made a grant of €200,000 available to the City Council to assist 2,000 families in a situation of vulnerability. And thanks to the contribution of €100,000 made by the department store group El Corte Inglés through the Ramón Areces Foundation, prepaid cards to 500 families at risk of exclusion and new equipment to the shelters for the homeless can be provided. Through these partnerships, the Madrid City Council is strengthening its Family Emergency Plan to alleviate the effects of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus on the most vulnerable. Read more here and here (in Spanish)

Contact: Ana Buñuel

Gijon – Sports pavilion becomes homeless shelter

Hundred beds for homeless people have been placed in the “Tejerona” Sport Pavilion in Gijon. Red Cross and Civil Protection take care of the people, the city council is in charge of maintance and vigilance. The installation also facilitates the work of other local associations such as “Covadonga Hostel” and “Economic Kitchen”. Read more here (in Spanish)

Contact: Enrique Rodríguez

Leipzig – Expanded facilities for homeless people

The City of Leipzig has expanded its facilities for homeless people. Emergency shelters are now open day and night and provide free breakfast, lunch and supper. A new facility with 50 extra places has been set up to answer to the growing demand due to the current exit restrictions. Read more here

Contact: Christin Rettke

Stuttgart – Working with volunteers

A local online market place for Stuttgart based retailers, restaurants and service providers is now available to residents with the support of the city of Stuttgart. The platform was originally developed as a voluntary initiative and is free of charge. The city is also looking to work with volunteers, who have medical qualifications, to support people in shelters that are known to or suspected to have COVID-19. Read more here and here

Contact: Claudia Schulcz

Cardiff – Extra homeless provision

Cardiff Council has provided additional accommodation at two city centre hotels for rough sleepers and those living in emergency accommodation to ensure that any individuals with underlying health conditions, or who are showing symptoms of Coronavirus COVID-19, will be able to self-isolate.
Residents receive three meals a day and support staff are available around the clock to ensure the provision is safe and appropriate advice and help is always available. Read more here

Contact: Beverley Watson

Ljubljana – Free facilities for quarantine

The public institution Šport Ljubljana has offered its Šport hotel at the Gymnastic Centre in Ljubljana to the Slovenian government free of charge for the needs of quarantining Slovenian citizens returning from abroad. The hotel has a capacity of 15 rooms with a total of 38 beds. Following the example of the Ljubljana Castle, which offered its Hostel Celica to the University Medical Centre for the accommodation of its staff, this second public institution has shown solidarity to all hit by the coronavirus epidemic.

Room in Šport hotel Ljubljana. Photo: Šport Ljubljana

Contact: Polona Novak

Nice – Support for the vulnerable

Nice has opened a new reception site for the homeless and updated old ones by adding protection and hygiene measures recommended by the health authorities. Read more (in French) here. The city has also teamed up with nearby cities to launch a regional telephone hotline for psychological support to residents. Read more (in French) here. For those with a prescription, medical workers, or people who are exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus, two drive-through test centres have also been set up. Read more (in French) here.

A special hotline for those with disabilities has also been set up, and an app through which the disabled can get information and ask for help. The city has made available tools like automatic voice transcription and sign language to make sure that everyone can stay up to date on the latest news and advice. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Turin – Solidarity network

As capital city of Piedmont, Italy, Turin is organising its measures in the corona crisis in close cooperation with the regional and national level. The Municipal Operational Centre is constantly in contact with the Crisis Unit of the Piedmont Region. Social services for the elderly are taking care of other people in need now, and a new system for the supply of free food has been created.

Continue reading “Turin – Solidarity network” →

Nice – Tackling domestic violence

Nice has launched several measures to tackle domestic violence during the lock down. These include a telephone hotline and email address for reporting known or suspected cases, an awareness raising campaign, a partnership with pharmacies that welcome female victims of violence, and provision of emergency accommodation for women who wish to leave their homes. Read more (in French) here.

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Zaragoza – 198 beds for the homeless

The Zaragoza City Council has converted the ‘Tenerías sports municipal centre’ into a big dormitory for the homeless. This is in addition to 98 places already offered at the ‘Albergue municipal’. The services provided will include health assistance, three meals a day, and social services support in cooperation with the municipal social services. Read more here

Contact: Lorena Calvo

Stuttgart – Shelter for quarantine patients

In order to further relieve clinics, ensure good medical care and improve the situation of isolated patients, the city of Stuttgart is creating over 300 places for accommodation and care as a precautionary measure. The rented buildings are spread over several city districts and are operated by various emergency services on behalf of the city. They can be used by people whose quarantine has been ordered, but who cannot be quarantined in their own homes. Among the first users are refugees and homeless people.

Continue reading “Stuttgart – Shelter for quarantine patients” →

Nice – Over thousand meals a day for the homeless

Homeless people are housed in different locations in the French city of Nice, from night shelters and schools to hotels and youth hostels. In all places, meals are offered. The central kitchen of the city of Nice provides meals for people staying in hotels. Between 1,000 and 1,400 meals or picnics are distributed per day. Read more here (in French)

Contact: Jérôme Sieurin

Odemira – 500 quarantine places for foreign agricultural workers

In Odemira (Portugal) reside a significant number of foreign agricultural workers who often live in close quarters. The area hasn’t had many cases of COVID-19 yet, but the municipality believes it’s just a matter of time. This is why mayor José Alberto Guerreiro has prepared a prevention plan for quarantine that takes into account the need to prevent transmission within this population. This includes making several spaces with sanitation services and possibilities to organise meals – like sports and multipurpose pavilions – available to accommodate up to 500 migrants working in agriculture. Read more (in Portuguese) here

Ljubljana – Hostel for medical personnel

Ljubljana is offering empty and disinfected rooms in Hostel Celica, run by the Ljubljana Castle public institute, to be used by the University Medical Centre for the accommodation of their staff. The hostel is intended for workers who come to work at UKC Ljubljana from other towns, which means that they no longer need to drive back home every day and that their self-protective measures are made easier.

As public transportation has been temporarily cancelled, many medical workers find the drive to Ljubljana and back home to be very stressful and exhausting. Ljubljana has also opted to provide for all employees of nursing homes who cannot return home every day for various reasons. The nursing homes are now fitted with portable beds which the workers can use when they spend the night in Ljubljana.

Contact: Polona Novak

Dusseldorf – More homeless shelters

Düsseldorf is providing food packages and is arranging more shelters in the city. As of Monday, the municipal canteen at will serve as a distribution point for the Streetwork association. Düsseldorf catering establishments will take care of the delivery of groceries.

The party service Fröhlich will supply the day care centers and some emergency accommodation from Saturday. The Schumacher brewery will take care of the supplies and the delivery of the drug help center. The city has informed other institutions such as the GuteNachtBus, the poor kitchen and Fiftyfifty that they can send their needs and questions to the city. Read more (in German) here.

Contact: Stefanie Nietfeld

Brussels – 15 places for homeless people

To avoid contamination in the winter shelters which can welcome up to 1,750 people every day, Brussels Capital Region, alongside the Red Cross, opened 15 smaller centres for homeless people as the city moves into a containment period. In addition, a mobile unit with medical staff has been set up, in order to allow for safe passage to hospitals, and to bring homeless people to these new centres.

Read more here

Contact: Geert de Roep and Antoine Umbrain