Due to Covid-19 our winter operations this year will necessarily be different from our usual model.

The Council’s ‘Everybody in’ policy this winter means they will be offering temporary accommodation for all rough sleepers, and public health guidance has made it very clear that communal shelters with shared air space overnight and shared bathroom facilities should only be used as a last resort. We therefore expect most homeless people will be spending the winter in individual rooms potentially isolated from their social groups and without access to cooking facilities. For this reason, the WNSMK’s primary focus will not be on emergency accommodation this season, but rather on how we rise to the challenge of ensuring that everyone who needs it has access to adequate food provision, welfare services and supportive companionship to combat isolation and loneliness. We will therefore be maximising all possible use of our centre and reception café, Unity Park Station (UPS, the old bus station) as a hub for the homeless this winter.

We are launching some initial services during the November lockdown and phasing in additional planned provision over the coming weeks. Volunteer recruitment is now live, click here for details and to apply.

The end of our winter season in 2020 was like no other before it. We had to close our emergency accommodation early before the nationwide lockdown began on 23 March and urgently find our homeless guests a safe place to stay. In the weeks and months followed we provided emergency food relief and welfare support to those who have no other source of help. This is the story of the help we provided during the first lockdown and beyond, made possible by the community and volunteers coming together to support those in urgent need. This work was supported by public donations and funding from MK Community Foundation.