If you think you're likely to become homeless you should contact our housing options team. The housing options team provide practical support and advice. They can provide help with managing financial affairs, arranging tenancies with private sector landlords and liasing with other agencies such as social services to provide help where needed. Most importantly and where possible housing options will work with a person and other agencies to stop homelessness occurring.
Click here for more details about the advice that we offer.
Click here for a map of homeless services offered in Norwich.
Severe Weather Emergency Protocol
People sleeping rough in Norwich can access emergency accommodation and support during periods of exceptionally cold weather through the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). This is activated by a temperature of zero degrees Celsius or lower forecast for at least three consecutive nights.
Through SWEP, we aim to prevent loss of life and reduce the number of people sleeping on the streets. While we have arrangements in place to prevent and respond to rough sleeping at all times of the year, SWEP ensures a place of warmth and safety is available for those people sleeping rough who are not normally eligible for services, or who have a long history of sleeping rough and have refused previous interventions from housing options services.
Once a decision has been made to activate SWEP, we - together with partner agencies - ensure that people who are out on the streets are offered emergency accommodation. The person in question must be in agreement with receiving our assistance.
SWEP gives such services an opportunity to engage with individuals who have previously refused assistance, so that every effort is made to prevent them from returning to a rough sleeping lifestyle
We urge anyone who encounters people who are homeless and rough sleeping to make the person aware there is immediate help available for them and to notify us by emailing roughsleepers@norwich.gov.uk or calling 01603 212950.
Contact details
If you need to contact someone in an emergency outside normal office hours, at a weekend or during bank holidays you should contact our out of hours service on 01603 412180.
For further information call housing options on 0344 980 3333, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm, Wednesday 12pm - 5pm (closed Wednesday morning for staff training) or email homeoptions@norwich.gov.uk
There are also a number of other agencies working with the homeless or vulnerable people who could be able to help you.
Helping a rough sleeper
Homeless Link, an umbrella organisation for homeless agencies in the UK, has launched a website called
Street Link which enables anyone to alert local authorities and charities in England to rough sleepers in their area.
This service offers the public a chance to act when they see someone sleeping rough and is the first step someone can take to ensure rough sleepers are connected to local services and support available to them. The
Street Link website also allows anyone who is sleeping rough themselves to ask for help.
Related links