Hotels used to house rough sleepers during pandemic return to business

“We are dismayed that extended housing support will only be available to those who qualify for welfare benefits,” the letter, coordinated by the campaign group Citizens UK, said. “In some areas this will result in a large number of people, up to 50% of those currently housed, returning to the streets at a time when homelessness services, such as day centres and night shelters, remain closed. Dominic Williamson, an executive director at St Mungo’s, which has supported about 2,700 rough sleepers during lockdown, said the scheme had been “a tremendous success” which could be reversed if new housing was not found swiftly. Around 20 residents were moved to another hotel in Hammersmith; charity staff who had been working with the hotels’ inhabitants were told by officials that nobody had ended up back on the street, butthey said this was difficult to verify and they were uncertain about where the rest had been rehoused. Several other London hotels are due to close in the next three weeks, but staff have expressed concern that they will not be able to find alternative suitable accommodation for inhabitants.