News Three months into our Night Shelter Season – What we are seeing on the frontline Glass Door has been operating emergency winter night shelters for over 20 years. We run the UK's largest network of night shelters for people experiencing homelessness. We launched our emergency night shelter service on Monday 6th November, offering 105 spaces per night across three shelters in West & Southwest London. We have 45 shelter staff, 425 volunteers and a year-round Casework and Operations Team delivering our shelter provision seven days a week in each of the three rotating circuits. We offer a safe and warm place to sleep, a hot and nutritious meal and light breakfast every day for the five coldest months of the year. 6th Feb 2024 – marked three-months for our Winter Night Shelter service, here’s what we’ve reported from the front-line. Three months into 2023-24 shelter season We have received 1,208 referrals 398 people have stayed in our shelters 86% were sleeping rough prior to staying in a night shelter The average length of stay so far is 21.6 nights Age breakdown of those who stayed in the shelters: 40% under-35, 32% 35-49, 28% 50+ 267 guests (67%) have engaged with a caseworker Successful outcomes include: 52 guests moved to more permanent housing, 11 connected with health services, 4 helped to secure ID The demand for our shelters hasn't diminished since the start of the new year. The Greater London Authority’s latest figures show that over the last 3 months of 2023, rough sleeping in London was 23% higher than the same period in 2022. Sadly, we have now closed referrals for the third time this season for men seeking shelter due to a consistently high demand for our shelters. On a positive note, since we reported last in our two-month shelter blog, our Casework team have moved 52 shelter guests into stable housing. Although Caseworkers are finding it more difficult to find affordable and quality housing in the Private Rented Sector, that's 29 more guests housed guests since last month. Our Winter Night Shelter Service runs until 7th April, so stay tuned for another front-line update next month. To read more about a night at our shelter, have a read of this story: A Night at the Shelter Support our work Manage Cookie Preferences
