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Everything you need to know about Street Link

It allows you to alert charities and organisations to where homeless sleepers are in Sheffield


For most of us, the arrival of the 'Beast from the East' meant nothing more than slippery pavements and brutal winds as you walk up Western Bank. The weather may be an inconvenience, but we can still curl up in bed when we get cold at the end of the day (…or use it as an excuse to skip lectures).

But for thousands of homeless people across the UK – including in Sheffield – who don't have a bed to curl up in, the onset of heavy snow, bitter winds and temperatures plunging well below freezing means they suffer in miserable conditions as they brave the streets.

Homeless Link, a charity trying to tackle homelessness, might have the solution. The re-launch of Homeless Link's StreetLink app means that with your help, Sheffield's rough sleepers might get, at least temporarily, shelter from Sheffield's sub-zero temperatures; shelter that we so often take for granted.

How it works

Users are able to report the location of rough sleepers as they spot them. The charity behind the app then passes this crowd-sourced information on to the relevant local charities and organisations. Volunteers then know which areas of Sheffield to visit on their patrols, and if they find rough sleepers, are able to offer support and a space at local homeless shelters.

Reporting the location of a rough sleeper is very straightforward and the process is self-explanatory. A report can be filed via the app or the StreetLink website. Once logged in, you are asked to specify the time you encountered the rough sleeper, drop a pin on a map for their rough location (this step is optional, and you may need to turn on location settings), and then provide more details in writing, including their gender, a guess at their age and any distinguishing features. And that's it!

The five minutes it takes to file a report means the relevant people can get to work on getting help to the vulnerable person in question. If you like, you can choose to be informed via email of the outcome of your report, for peace of mind.

Why this app matters now

Sheffield's recent heavy snow means apps like StreetLink are particularly important. When temperatures plummet, local councils have a legal obligation to give rough sleepers shelter. Councils and charities can use StreetLink's users as their eyes and ears for getting support to freezing, vulnerable people faster.

After the heartbreaking stories of a homeless man who froze to death just before Christmas on the streets of Birmingham and a homeless man who died metres from the entrance to Parliament last month, we can't let such tragedies happen in Sheffield too.

Homelessness rose by 15 per cent in 2017 with a particularly sharp increase of 39 per cent in the north-west of England. Sheffield SU's 'Four weeks of action' campaign means that all of this week has been homelessness awareness week – the perfect time for us all to start using StreetLink.