What is SWEP (Severe Weather Emergency Protocol)?
- SWEP is a locally agreed procedure and offer, followed to minimise harm or death to anyone who might be sleeping rough in severe weather, through the provision of emergency accommodation.
- Local Authorities aren’t legally required to provide SWEP, but it’s seen as a humanitarian duty.
- Local Authorities commission and are responsible for opening SWEP.
- “Severe weather” has no single definition for the purposes of triggering emergency accommodation — it can include extreme cold, heat, wind, or rain that increases risk to people sleeping rough.
- With climate change driving unpredictable conditions, Local Authorities should prepare for extreme weather year-round.
Cold weather SWEP
Extreme cold can cause serious health problems and death for those who are exposed overnight or for long periods of time. Historically, SWEP used to be triggered only when temperatures were forecast at 0°C or below for three days. Best practice now takes a broader approach: considering forecasts near zero, rain, snow, wind chill, “feels like” temperature, and icy conditions. There are benefits to opening provision for temperatures that are above freezing as this can be just as harmful, and for maintaining this provision over longer periods.
How Can I help?
Contact Streetlink to link people in with local services https://lnkd.in/epKzDkvc if you have concerns about an individual.
Buy a hot drink and have a conversation and reduce the isolation that people feel on the streets .
Be an ambassador , find out about the complexities of homelessness , dispel myths and help people understand more about the human cost of rough sleeping and its impact.
