What to do if you are facing a night on the streets in Colchester
If you are facing the unfortunate possibility of having nowhere to stay and are street homeless, here are 4 things you can do:
1. Make the council aware
The Local Authority (Colchester City Council) have a duty of care to anyone with a local connection to Colchester. You can phone Housing Solutions on 01206 580290 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. If you are calling after 5pm or at the weekend, you can call the out of hours duty line on 01206 769 779. If you are deemed to have a ‘priority need’ go to – Priority need – Shelter England you will be accommodated that day by the council. Otherwise, you will be asked to make a homelessness application via their website, the link can be found here Housing Options Wizard – Introduction (Page 1 of 8) – HomeChoice
2. Give us a call
Phone CENS on 01206 549885 any time between 7.30am-10pm if you are homeless and in Colchester. You will be asked a set of triage questions and could be invited to come to the night shelter that day for an assessment. Please be aware there are not always spare rooms, and we may have to make enquiries before you are able to stay here. However, it’s CENS priority to get people in as quickly as possible and we prioritise people who are in Colchester and facing street homelessness.
3. Do a Streetlink referral
You can send out an alert that will go to the rough sleepers’ outreach team via streetlink.org.uk. You need to give as much detail as possible about what you look like and where you are staying in Colchester for the team to find you. Once they have verified where you are sleeping, they can offer support.
4. Register with Beacon House
Make your way to Beacon House at 24 Crouch Street, CO3 3EZ. It is a day centre for people facing homelessness and can offer a wealth of support. They have contact with landlords, social housing providers and Colchester Borough Homes. Visit the website here: Home – Beacon House | Homeless Day Centre
