top of page

Rough Sleepers

Rough sleeping is a perilous situation at the best of times, with people at risk of violence, poor health, exposure to inclement weather and immense mental health impacts.  There are plenty of good reasons to support rough sleepers to end their homelessness.  Climate impacts are just one more.

img_9351-preview_edited_edited.jpg

The biggest impact on rough sleepers is from extreme climate events.

  • Cyclones make it unsafe for anyone to be outdoors, rough sleeper or not.

  • Flooding, whether accompanied by intense rain or not, can lead to rough sleepers’ normal places of refuge being inundated and leave them doubly displaced.

  • Heat waves can place them at greater risk of heat-related illness – for instance, dehydration or heat stroke – as they have less opportunities to escape the heat.

 

These issues can be compounded by the fact that People who are sleeping rough are less likely to be aware of public warnings and may not be in consistent contact with any person or agency who can make sure they are OK.

 

Any community emergency plan should include a strategy for rough sleepers.  It needs to cover such issues as:

  • How will they be warned of an approaching event, and by whom?  Depending on the community this may be led by homelessness outreach agencies, or by other public services such as police or Council parks staff. 

  • Where can rough sleepers go to get out of the path of danger?  As a first option it may be that they are offered the same shelter as others in public evacuation centres.  However, it is important to be aware that people who are rough sleeping may be living with a variety of issues such as mental illness, brain injury or addiction that can make them challenging to accommodate in a crowded public shelter and more thought may need to be given to their support.

  • What will happen for them after the immediate danger is passed?  A crisis like this can be a good opportunity to support people into more permanent secure housing if the resources are deployed in the right way.  This is particularly the case where their usual places of refuge are inaccessible for extended periods.

bottom of page