COVID-19 Lockdown - Update 18th April 2020
Unfortunately our drop-in at Westgate will need to remain closed for at least a further 3 weeks, due to the ongoing government restrictions and advice.
Lewes District Council (LDC) has offered accommodation to our rough sleepers during this Covid-19 outbreak. Please phone them on 01273 471600 if you are a rough sleeper and would like to accept this offer or haven’t yet been contacted.
We are doing our best to support our regular guests with telephone support, and in some cases with food parcels or hot food. Contact us on 07985 418079 if you require further help and we will do our best to help you ourselves or put you in contact with the right agencies.
Advice for Rough Sleepers during Covid-19 lockdown
Rough sleepers should continue to engage with their support workers to help them access the services they need, though this may be through telephone support rather than outreach visits.
Rough Sleepers who show symptoms of coronavirus are particularly at risk for a number of reasons. The most common symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are recent onset of:
a new continuous cough. This means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or having three or more coughing episodes in 24 hrs (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
and/or
a high temperature. This means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
A sore throat, headache and diarrhoea have also been reported and a loss of smell & taste may also be a symptom.
Any verified rough sleepers in Lewes district who develop symptoms of coronavirus are advised to make contact urgently with LDC by telephone, or via their support worker if they have one allocated. This also applies to our guests that are in shared emergency accommodation. To protect others, do not go to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
LDC will seek to make provision for those individuals to self-isolate, and to access the important services that they need.
Rough sleepers without access to a telephone will be able to use the phone that has been fitted outside the council offices at Southover House, Southover Rd, Lewes, BN7 1AB
in order to speak to their key workers.
Advice for the Homeless during Covid-19 lockdown
If you are homeless or in danger of becoming homeless, you should contact LDC, even if you may previously have been refused assistance.
Either phone 01273 471600 or e mail customerfirst@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk.
This link has more detailed information: https://www.lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk/_resources/assets/inline/full/0/287827.pdf
Further information
Lewes Citizens Advice is only able to offer telephone advice at this time, but now has a local number to avoid lengthy delays via the central switchboard. Tel: 01273 007557
The following websites have more detailed information about the Covid-19 virus:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms-and-what-to-do/