Cardiff Council is taking over accommodation in the city to help the most vulnerable in our society.
The OYO Hotel in Clare Street, Riverside – previously known as the Wynford Hotel – has been taken over by the Council to ensure that self-contained accommodation is available for rough sleepers living in Cardiff.
The shipping containers in both Ely and Butetown, which were fitted out for use by homeless families, are also now being used for those homeless people who are showing symptoms of the virus and need to self-isolate.
The Council’s current emergency accommodation for the homeless has a number schemes where individuals are housed in shared spaces. This poses issues as we seek to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and therefore the Council is proactively seeking alternatives to this provision.
The Council has been in discussions with a number of hotel owners to identify possible accommodation options. The OYO Hotel is the first such provision to be brought on line to ensure there is sufficient suitable accommodation during the pandemic. Conversations are still underway with other hotel owners in the city.
The OYO is a 41-bed hotel, which has en-suite bathroom facilities in every room. This makes self-isolation possible. Support staff will be on site, 24-hours a day to ensure the accommodation is safe, and appropriate advice and help is available.
The Council’s outreach team have been working with rough sleepers to advise them about the virus and to encourage them to come into accommodation. The needs of all homeless people are being assessed to ensure that they can be moved into the most appropriate accommodation for their needs.
Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to secure this extra accommodation to help rough sleepers in Cardiff at this difficult time”
“By providing fully-contained emergency accommodation, we are ensuring that rough sleepers who are showing symptoms of the virus are able to self-isolate like everybody else that needs to.
“We are still continuing to look at other buildings which we can temporarily take over to help the most vulnerable people in our society. Our new emergency accommodation at the Parade, in the city centre is also nearly complete, and will be used to help those in need at this time of crisis.
“Our Outreach Team continues to do an excellent job in very challenging conditions and we are asking all those who are sleeping on the streets of Cardiff to come into the accommodation which is available for them.”
Cllr Huw Thomas, Leader of Cardiff Council said: “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to secure this extra accommodation to help rough sleepers in Cardiff at this difficult time”
“By providing fully-contained emergency accommodation, we are ensuring that rough sleepers who are showing symptoms of the virus are able to self-isolate like everybody else that needs to.
“We are still continuing to look at other buildings which we can temporarily take over to help the most vulnerable people in our society Our new emergency accommodation at the Parade, in the city centre is also nearly complete, and will be used to help those in need at this time of crisis.
“Our Outreach Team continues to do an excellent job in very challenging conditions and we are asking all those who are sleeping on the streets of Cardiff to come in to the accommodation which is available for them.”
