Thank you to all that have signed this so far, and to those who have gone beyond and sent their thoughts directly to the council and other agencies.
So far we have heard nothing directly, which isn't surprising to be honest, but I have no doubt that at some point the announcement will come that SWEP has been activated along with the story line that it had nothing to do with this campaign but is in line with local government policy.
Myself and Project 16:15 believe that those on the street, regardless of why they are there, deserve a voice, that voice is us as much as we are able. And as much as we applaud the work done under the pandemic and central government rulings to get so many in during lockdown, we cannot ignore the cracks in the current system through which still way to many fall.
To: Northampton Borough Council, Northampton Hope Centre and partner agencies
Open Northampton SWEP
Activate Northampton SWEP and get the rough sleepers indoors.
Why is this important?
Up to 30 individuals are still sleeping rough every night across Northampton. The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol which gets them indoors overnight is meant to be activated when the temperature is predicted to drop below 0 for 3 consecutive nights by the Met. Office.
This has been the case and is getting worse but nothing has yet been done.
Northampton SWEP is notoriously late and slow in opening every year, which is simply not good enough, people are at the risk of severe illness, even death while others sit in the warm discussing options.
Winter didn't sneak up on us and take us by surprise, so why unlike other areas is Northampton never prepared?
Activate SWEP before we loose lives to the cold.
