How charities help the homeless in heatwaves

Hot weather can quickly become dangerous for people who are homeless, bringing higher risks of dehydration, sunburn and heatstroke, charities have warned.

"Rough sleeping has always been a public health emergency, but in this intense heat, lives are at imminent risk," Matt Downie, chief executive of the homelessness charity Crisis said in June, during this summer's first blast of soaring temperatures.

Councils can implement severe weather emergency protocols (SWEP) to help people sleeping on the streets. However, an investigation by the Museum of Homelessness into 91 councils between 2022 and 2024 found that just 6% of SWEPs were implemented in hot weather.

Across the West Midlands, homeless charities are keen to raise awareness of the risks, with various strategies in place to help. But what do those look like?

Jon Perry, the CEO of the Maggs Day Centre in Worcester, said: "The challenges are that hot weather is just as problematic for people without a home as cold weather.

"There's a very serious risk for people, which is why we're going out, providing fluids, and also having the day centres open longer for shelter, and I think those sorts of things are very important."

Particular issues that Perry outlined were people struggling to find shelter, only having warm clothes, and the subsequent impact of conditions like heatstroke.

Maggs Day Centre has an emergency heatwave response, which includes giving bottled water, sun cream and hats to those in need.

With all of the extra resources and volunteers needed for scorching temperatures, Perry added: "It's a huge additional demand on us as an organisation."

The charity has a clothing centre in Worcester, where people can donate essential items to help people on the streets.

In Wolverhampton, volunteers at the Good Shepherd organisation are going out on the streets to invite homeless people back to their base for food, water and shelter, as well as carrying out health and wellbeing checks.

Key worker Shaz Kaur said: "Anyone who's rough sleeping is at risk of heatstroke, anyone walking the streets for a long time is.

"In extreme weather, we changed to do more outreach and have a more visible presence in the city centre so rough sleepers knew we were out."

Kaur said the charity had noticed some clients had suffered from sunburn, while others had experienced changes in their behaviour.

"Especially [people who were] alcohol dependent or had challenges with substances," she said. "The hot weather did exacerbate mental and physical [ill] heath.

"Some became quite erratic in severe weather."

Volunteers have also had to remind people to stay hydrated, with dehydration a greater risk for those dependent on alcohol and few public places offering easy access to drinking water.

Some might not be able to carry too much water around with them, as Kaur said a lot of rough sleepers did not have backpacks or other bags.

The charity has also supplied clean t-shirts and clothes that help people keep cool.

Let's Feed Brum started as a volunteer effort to hand out sandwiches on the street, evolving into a charity that was honoured with a Queen's Award for charitable services.

It has a nightly outreach service and offers two community breakfasts hosted at St Philip's Cathedral on Colmore Row, all run by volunteers.

Alan Strang, the charity's chair of trustees, said: "[It's about] using that food as a vehicle to being able to sit down and befriend those people on the streets and get to know what their needs are."

While Strang said some people's moods improved in warmer weather, others could become "very hot and bothered and lethargic".

"Lots of the street community suffer from alcohol addiction and that doesn't mix well with the hot weather," he said.

"So dehydration is certainly a factor which is why we're so keen to get as much liquid as we can carry out on the street."

He said Let's Feed Brum was trying to adapt its operations for the warmer weather, which included doubling the allocation of water, handing out ice lollies and watermelon, and giving out t-shirts and caps to homeless people.

They also partner with the charity ShowerBox, helping people on the streets to have a shower in the warmer weather, which Strang called "invaluable".

"We're just all doing what we can to make a very difficult life a little bit more pleasant and tolerable," Strang said.

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