CORONAVIRUS UPDATE
Many local councils in Wales are working to provide accommodation and support during the coronavirus pandemic to people who are sleeping rough.
If you do not have anywhere to live you should contact your local council or your support worker as soon as you can. Find contact details for your local council here.
The council should help you make a homelessness application and, if you are sleeping rough, or at risk of finding yourself on the street, the council should decide that you are in priority need and give you emergency accommodation. This is because coronavirus can spread very easily and if you are sleeping on the streets it is very difficult for you to keep to the government health advice for hygiene, self-isolation and social distancing.
For more information about what the council can do to help you during the pandemic, click here.
If you are given emergency accommodation or are already living in emergency accommodation, you will be expected to stick to the rules the Welsh Government has set to prevent coronavirus spreading. These are currently to :
- observe social distancing
- wash your hands regularly
- if you meet another household, outside your extended household, stay outdoors
- stay at home and get tested if you or anyone in your extended household has symptoms.
The council or your landlord will probably give you a letter with the important rules you need to keep to. Make sure you ask for help if you do not understand anything in the letter. If you do not stick to the rules you could be reported and action taken against you. You could also risk being asked to leave the accommodation.
If you have symptoms of coronavirus you will need to self-isolate for 7 days. The council or your landlord should help you access somewhere suitable to self-isolate during that period. This might be where you are currently staying or, if not suitable for self-isolation, somewhere else. They should also provide you with the support you need, food and medical help if needed.
If you are in a hostel you may be given a separate isolation pod away from others and separate hygiene facilities.
You can find out more about how to help stop the infection from spreading here and find out more about the coronavirus here.