Emergency beds are open across London, Haringey included, for anyone sleeping rough until Monday 16 November. Report someone outside through StreetLink.

Overview

London’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) is active from Friday 13 November and is expected to run until Monday 16 November, with temperatures forecast to fall to 0°C or below. Haringey, like every London borough, opens extra emergency accommodation so anyone sleeping rough can come inside. If you see someone sleeping out in Crouch End, Hornsey or anywhere in the borough, tell StreetLink so the outreach team can find them.

Anyone sleeping rough in Haringey this weekend can be offered a warm place indoors until at least Monday. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and London Councils switched on the protocol across the capital on Friday 13 November, the first time it has been used this winter.

City Hall said London boroughs and homelessness charities will open extra emergency accommodation, and the Mayor funds a London-wide overflow service to provide more places where they are needed.

What it means in Haringey

Haringey Council runs its own version of the protocol. Its SWEP page says the borough’s emergency places are provided “within existing supported housing services”, and because it is a short-term measure, people may sleep on “camp beds, mattresses or chairs in communal spaces or spare rooms”. The council says gender-appropriate accommodation is offered wherever possible.

The council’s trigger matches London’s: a Met Office forecast of 0°C or below. It also uses SWEP in heavy or prolonged rain where there is a risk of flooding, gale-force winds and extreme heat.

Street outreach in the borough is run by the charity Thames Reach for the council. The Haringey Street Outreach Team works across the borough to reach people sleeping rough, carry out an assessment and offer help with housing, mental health and substance use. A StreetLink alert is how that team learns where someone is.

How to help someone sleeping rough

  1. Note where the person is, as precisely as you can: the street, the doorway, the nearest shop or landmark, and the time you saw them.
  2. Send the details through StreetLink. It passes them to the local outreach team, who will try to find the person and offer help.
  3. Haringey Council says you can also contact local outreach services directly if you have urgent concerns.

In for Good and the new cold alert trial

City Hall and London Councils encourage boroughs to follow the Mayor’s “In for Good” approach: while someone is in emergency accommodation, staff assess what support they need and look at longer-term options, rather than sending them back out when the cold snap ends.

This winter, some boroughs are also trialling what City Hall calls Enhanced SWEP. Those boroughs will open extra emergency places when the UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office issue a Cold Health Alert for London, even if temperatures are forecast to stay above freezing. City Hall has not said which boroughs are taking part. The London-wide trigger stays at 0°C.

The numbers

  • Last winter SWEP was active for 11 nights, and London boroughs gave emergency accommodation to 1,491 people during those activations.
  • City Hall says more than 21,000 people have been helped off London’s streets since 2016, and three quarters of them have stayed off the streets for good.
  • In 2025/26, City Hall’s rough sleeping budget was more than five times the £8.45m a year it was when the Mayor took office in 2016.

What the Mayor and the boroughs said

Sadiq Khan said: “No one should have to sleep on the streets, and freezing temperatures can put lives at risk. That’s why we’re working with London boroughs and homelessness charities to open extra emergency accommodation and help people sleeping rough get somewhere warm and safe.

“Coming indoors can be the first step towards getting off the streets for good. We want people to get the support they need to find a longer-term place to stay.

“If you see someone sleeping rough, please let StreetLink know so an outreach team can try to find them and offer help.”

Cllr Anthony Okereke, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing and Homelessness, said: “Councils across London provide targeted support for people sleeping rough every day. SWEP measures are a crucial part of that work, helping to ensure every Londoner has access to a warm, safe place to stay, saving lives.

“But our efforts must go beyond immediate protection from the cold. It is vital that we help people into safe, settled accommodation for the long term. We will continue to work closely with the Mayor and local partners, supporting the government’s ambition to eradicate rough sleeping and strengthening our collective efforts to end homelessness across the capital.”

The protocol is expected to end on Monday 16 November, but it is switched on again whenever the forecast falls to freezing.