• WE’RE extremely concerned about the health and wellbeing of anyone sleeping rough in Islington, especially in the recent cold weather (Tragic death comes weeks after rough sleepers pledge, December 15).

We work alongside charities like St Mungo’s, The Big Issue, Women at the Well and Change, Grow, Live Islington to offer shelter and support to rough sleepers in Islington. All rough sleepers the outreach team have contact with will be offered support to access accom­modation and link in with services to move away from the streets.

Since the beginning of November, St Mungo’s has helped 22 people off the streets and into accommodation. We will continue to work tirelessly to help more people off the streets and into a safer environment.

The outreach teams are good at working with people in very difficult circumstances, and at encouraging people to take up offers of support and shelter. However, support is optional, and we cannot force people to accept help.

A lot of work recently has been focused around Stroud Green Road, Finsbury Park, where St Mungo’s has helped at least six people into accommodation this year, including recently helping three women who had been sleeping under the railway bridge.

Unattended mattresses and other items are sometimes left under the bridge and can cause obstructions to pedestrians and cyclists. As part of wider outreach work – which always includes offers of help into shelter and other support – our street cleansing team removes unattended items from under the bridge if they are causing an obstruction.

But we don’t remove personal possessions belonging to rough sleepers, such as sleeping bags. Before abandoned items are removed, people are asked if there are any personal belongings they want to keep. We do not take away any personal belongings that someone wants to keep.

This work always takes places alongside outreach to offer shelter and bring people into contact with services. The ultimate aim of all our work is to get people safely off the streets and into shelter, especially at this time of year, and to help them to get safe, secure accommodation in the long term.

We will continue to work to offer rough sleepers shelter and support over Christmas and throughout 2018. If you see people sleeping rough in Islington, please connect them to local services who can help via streetlink.org.uk

CLLR DIARMAID WARD
Labour executive member for housing and development, Islington Council