Homelessness and rough sleeping

Rough sleeping

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough in our area, let us know by:

• calling our Rough Sleeping team on 01536 464630
• emailing roughsleepingteam@northnorthants.gov.uk
• using our out-of-hours service on 0300 126 3000

You can also report a rough sleeper through Street Link, a national website that sends alerts to the local authority.

We will quickly try to locate the person to provide practical advice and gain an understanding of their personal situation, to identify if they are eligible for assistance and their potential accommodation options.

Regular street outreach

Each week, we undertake outreach sessions (early morning or late at night) to find and engage with people who are sleeping rough in the area. The areas covered will be based on reports received from the public, partner agencies or well-known sleep sites to try and encourage any rough sleepers found to access support.

Our priority is to engage with rough sleepers as soon as possible to help reduce the time spent out on the streets and gain their trust to ensure they receive the help they need.

Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP)

We help rough sleepers being helped off the streets to access accommodation and support as quickly as possible, regardless of weather conditions.

Extreme weather (including extreme heat) increases the risk of death or serious illness to people who sleep rough and is the reason why the Council has a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) in place.

This is as an extra layer of assistance to ensure anyone not engaging with the support available or any new rough sleepers have access to shelter during periods of extreme weather.