Rough sleeping

What to do if you are rough sleeping or know someone who is.

If you are rough sleeping or are aware of somebody rough sleeping

If you are homeless and have nowhere to sleep tonight (after 5pm), please call the Haringey Council out-of-hours service on 020 8489 1000

Those who are rough sleeping and who need additional support will receive a warm welcome at Mulberry Junction, our dedicated resource centre for single people affected by homelessness.

The service is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between the hours of 9am and 12pm. The service is also open exclusively to all women, including cis and trans women, on Thursdays between 1pm and 4pm.

You can alert the local authority and outreach services of someone who is rough sleeping by making a referral to Streetlink on 0300 500 0914.

StreetLink is run by Homeless Link and is the main way the public can let us know about someone they are concerned about who is sleeping rough.

By using StreetLink, members of the public can alert local authorities and homelessness organisations to people sleeping rough in their area. This information helps the outreach teams to locate people and connect them with local services available to help them off the streets.

Rough sleeping in severe weather

Haringey has a severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP) that is triggered during periods of severe weather, providing shelter to people that are rough sleeping in the borough.

SWEP will be activated during days of severe weather which include but are not limited to:

  • when the Met Office forecasts a temperature drop of zero degrees celsius or below
  • where there is heavy or prolonged rainfall that presents a flood risk
  • where there are gale-force winds that increase the risk of uprooted trees, falling debris etc

Access to the provision is via the outreach team. If you are concerned about someone who is sleeping rough during severe weather, please refer them to Streetlink.

SWEP provision

In Haringey, cold-weather SWEP provision will be within existing supported housing services. Organisations and services work creatively to provide emergency accommodation.

Due to the unplanned and short-term nature of the provision, this will be in the form of camp beds, mattresses or chairs which may be within communal spaces or spare rooms.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission, SWEP accommodation will only be in shared sleeping spaces where there is no alternative.

The hot weather protocol

As a partnership, we are committed to making sure anyone rough sleeping in Haringey can access shade, water, and sun cream during hot weather to protect themselves from the heat. We recognise this as a preventative measure to safeguard vulnerable adults at risk.

As with severe cold weather, very hot weather can considerably increase the risk to a person who is rough sleeping and who does not have access to basic facilities. Very high temperatures can cause dehydration, confusion, and sunstroke as well as complications to existing medical conditions.

The Haringey street outreach team will work with all people who are street homeless and are supported to access summer provision to identify relevant support and/or signposting available to end their homelessness if this is not already in progress.

Rough sleeping services

Haringey provides several specialist services, meeting the needs of people affected by street homelessness:

Mulberry Junction

Mulberry Junction, is Haringey’s dedicated resource centre in Tottenham for single people affected by, or at risk of, homelessness.

Mulberry Junction provides on-the-spot housing advice, and health and wellbeing support to single adults affected by homelessness in Haringey.

You can visit us at 332 High Road in Tottenham, N15 4BN. Guests will be able to access the COVID-safe service on a drop-in basis: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 12pm.

On Thursday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm, the service hosts Women-Only One-Stop Hub (WOOSH), our safe space for all women, including cis and trans women, and you're welcome to attend.

Drop-in appointments are available, or you can email us at mulberry.junction@haringey.gov.uk to book your appointment.

Outreach services

  • Thames Reach is commissioned to deliver the Haringey Street Outreach Team on the Council’s behalf

Specialist services

Night shelters

Please note: Public Health England has advised that night shelters with shared sleeping facilities should remain closed due to the ongoing risks posed by COVID-19. We are working with our partners to reinstate an emergency accommodation service as soon as possible.

Emergency help is available. Please contact:

Food

If you are finding it hard to afford food, Connected Communities has support available. There are also food banks, school meals, and support for pregnant residents across Haringey.

  • Muswell Hill delivers hot food, support, and kindness to those in need, Thursday 7pm - 8pm and Sunday 4pm - 5pm
  • Street Kitchen provides hot free food, tea, coffee and sometimes clothes, outside Seven sisters Station opposite the large Tesco, Sundays at 5pm
  • Harringay Green Lanes is a Seventh Day Adventist Church with a soup kitchen, Sundays 12:30pm - 13:30pm
  • Community Cook Up brings residents of all cultures, generations and walks of life together, to cook and eat healthy food. For more information, email communitycookup@gmail.com