Two NHS healthcare teams visit our guests at the winter night shelter.

It can be hard to stay healthy when you are homeless.

People who are homeless are at much higher risk of physical and mental health conditions than people who have homes. It's hard to make your health a priority when you don't know where you will be sleeping next or where your next meal is coming from.

Imagine, no regular access to a loo or a shower, bad sleep, poor diet. You might not be able to afford medication and don't have a place to keep it safely, let alone store anything in a fridge.

Some people we work with think they can't register with a GP (they can and we help with that!) but even then it can be hard to make and keep appointments.

So helping people with their health is something we focus on all year round.

Right now, our winter night shelter presents a unique opportunity to connect the people we work with to services designed especially for them.

We recently welcomed two healthcare teams to the winter night shelter. The 'Health on the Move' team offered COVID and flu immunisations while the team from the Hepatitis C Trust gave blood pressure checks and offered screening to our guests.

These mobile NHS health services are able to meet people where they are and provide a private and safe space to receive care. Our guests made the most of the opportunity and the NHS teams joined our guests and volunteers for a lovely meal, and are coming back to visit another of our shelter venues!