How we help rough sleepers

We have many services in place to help support people living on the streets in our community. Working together with other organisations our primary aims are to identify rough sleepers as early as possible, enable them to access the support they need to facilitate positive lifestyle changes, and ultimately help them transition from sleeping rough:

See also:

Street outreach

We currently employ a team of four outreach workers to help rough sleepers in Adur and Worthing all year round; identifying rough sleepers and providing flexible, non-judgemental support to improve their health and housing situation.

This involves working with partner agencies to help rough sleepers access the appropriate housing and health services, including emergency accommodation placements and supported housing.

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough please share the details with our outreach workers using the:

StreetLink website

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Severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP)

SWEP provides shelter for all rough sleepers in extreme weather conditions, including when temperatures are forecasted to drop to 0 degrees Celsius or below, during a heatwave, heavy rain or snow. It can be triggered at any time of year and people are provided with shelter, a meal and support.

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough please share the details with our outreach workers using the:

StreetLink website

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Rough sleepers team

We work with a variety of partners to support and inform our work with rough sleepers in our community, such as Sussex Police and Probation services, and a number of charities, including:

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Other services available for rough sleepers

St Clare's Community Hub, a day centre in Worthing providing homeless people with support, advice, assessment and referrals, open 6 days a week:
- St Clare's Community Hub - on the Turning Tides website
Supported accommodation for single homeless people with low support needs
Specialist outreach workers to support rough sleepers with mental health needs, complex needs and those dealing with drug and alcohol addiction
Health Central Surgery is a clinic in Worthing providing GP care for homeless people, offering a range of services including substance misuse treatments and support, sexual health advice and mental health assessment:
- Health Central Surgery - on the Worthing Medical Group website
Nightly soup run

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Rough sleepers employment support initiative

If you are aware of a single adult confronting the risk of homelessness and seeking to acquire new skills or employment, please utilise the form provided below:

Rough sleepers employment support initiative - request employment, training or volunteering support - referral form

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Street count information

Adur & Worthing Councils complete bi-monthly 'snapshot' street counts to ascertain the number of rough sleepers in the area and help us understand where support is most needed. We also conduct an annual count each November, which is part of a national count.

Recent figures: