Updated 20 April

Glass Door's work was featured in The Independent, The Evening Standard, BBC Radio 4's Today Programme and the Financial Times in the first half of April. While many people who were formerly street homeless are now in hotels, Glass Door staff speak out about the hundreds of individuals still left on the streets and the challenges they face in accessing accommodation.

The Independent

12 April: In May Bulman's article in the Independent, caseworker Alex Norris discusses the "unnecessary obstacles" placed by councils: “In some cases it’s an online form, you need an email address and, for people who might not have access to the internet, who don’t have time to sit and do an online form, who are older and might have learning disabilities, it’s just not ideal at the best of times, but especially now, during this pandemic."

Evening Standard video

Senior communications manager Melissa Kerschen and former shelter guest Mark feature in a video for the Evening Standard:

Melissa discusses the issues faced by people still on the street today: "those who are told to wait for their phones to ring have been waiting for days with phones dying and with no means of charging them".

Councils need to get rid of the bureaucracy and help everyone, regardless of whether they have the paperwork to prove where they have spent the past five years.

Former shelter guest Mark, who is now in a hotel, adds:

"Even though it's an international tragedy, I'm actually having a bit of a break. When I was dealing with the council, I was told there was no temporary accommodation for my category. When it comes to an emergency, they can find some solution. And you wonder why they can't be more proactive in general to solve this problem."

The video forms part of an Evening Standard article on the struggle councils are facing to house people sleeping rough during the lock-down.

On BBC Radio 4's Today Programme

BBC political correspondent Ross Hawkins spoke to Glass Door caseworker Alex Norris on Friday 3 April for BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Listen back to the full programme and scroll to 1:17:00 to hear Alex's experiences from the front-line.

Alex says:

Today alone I've spoken to at least three people who have been waiting several days to be found by an outreach team. But they're still sleeping on the street. They’re still hungry.

“Forms often need to be completed online, you need an email address to sign up, they ask questions like someone’s five-year address history."

 BBC's Ross Hawkins adds: 

Tricky questions when you’ve been bedding down on buses.

In the Financial Times

Caseworker Alex also spoke to Robert Wright, social policy correspondent from the Financial Times.

The article on the action charities like Glass Door are demanding for people who are still street homeless quotes Alex:

Vulnerable people are being left on the street during a pandemic - despite continued calls for councils to make accessing temporary accommodation as easy as possible.

The article also mentions the success that Glass Door has had so far:

"While around 145 of the people Glass Door has recently been helping have been placed in hotels, the group said it was in touch with 50 people still sleeping rough."

The Independent, the Guardian, Sky News and many other press titles also covered Glass Door's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Look back at the press coverage from March here.

---

To hear about shelters guests' move into hotels and the latest challenges on the ground:

Read Glass Door's response to the coronavirus pandemic