31/03/20

Plans are revealed to take on a further hotel to increase provision for homeless individuals during the Coronavirus crisis.

Cardiff Council announced last week that it had secured additional accommodation at the OYO Hotel on Clare Street in Riverside, for rough sleepers and those living in emergency accommodation, where individuals sleep in shared spaces and self-isolation is not possible.

The aim of the additional accommodation was to ensure that  any individuals with underlying health conditions, or who are showing symptoms of Coronavirus COVID-19, will be able to self-isolate.

All 41 bedrooms in the OYO hotel are now occupied. Residents receive three meals a day  and support staff are available around the clock to ensure the provision is safe and appropriate advice and help is always available. 

This self-contained accommodation, as well as the two newly completed shipping container schemes in Ely and Butetown, is part of a raft of new provision being brought on line by Cardiff Council to provide extra support to vulnerable people.

The Council announced that a second hotel, providing 89 beds, will open today to provide more individuals with a safe and secure place to self-isolate and recover. As with the OYO Hotel and shipping container accommodation, theYHA Cardiff Central hostel building in Tyndall Street Splott, will have support staff on site 24-hours a day.

Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities, Cllr Lynda Thorne, said: "These are very challenging times but we are pulling out all the stops to make sure enough appropriate provision is available for all those who are homeless in the city.

"Our message to people on the streets at any time is to come into the accommodation and services waiting to help them but now, perhaps more than ever before, it is crucial that individuals sleeping rough listen to our plea, for their own sake and other people's health too.

"As well as providing somewhere safe, warm and dry, specialist support services will also be available in our accommodation to help people with complex needs, including substances misuse issues, for example.

"So I'm strongly urging people still outside to please come in and to anyone showing symptoms, please take self-isolation seriously to help prevent the virus spreading further."

The daily breakfast run operated by The Wallich, in partnership with the council, will continue to provide a warm snack and a hot drink to rough sleepers, with additional arrangements in place to facilitate social distancing and avoid people congregating at the van. The Salvation Army are out in force providing meals for rough sleepers in the evening.  Food is also available at the Huggard Centre's day centre on Hansen Street.

Cllr Thorne added: "Our outreach team, who work so hard to help people off the streets, have been talking to clients about Coronavirus over recent weeks, advising about the symptoms and keeping a very close eye on clients' health. They are doing an amazing job to get people into our accommodation and will continue to offer support and encouragement to everyone who needs our help."