Town Hall sleep-out event postponed

A 'help the homeless' placard

Following talks between Chill-Out organisers and senior council officials, the mass sleep-out planned for 29 May at the Town Hall has been called off.

The sleep-out was part of a campaign started on the Rochdale Online Forum in protest at the cuts in the provision of emergency beds by Rochdale Borough Council and has been postponed because the organisers believe they have persuaded the Council to address the homelessness crisis that has seen homelessness spiral by 200 per cent within the past year.

At a meeting last night (Thursday 25 May) with Chill-Out organisers, the council offered:

• An immediate, high level review of the protocols involving emergency beds.
• An immediate high-level review of care management (both of these in the light not only of the evidence that we have produced based on actual cases but also on cases picked up by the council's own team).
• A directory to be produced which will be distributed showing precisely what, where and how help is available.
• An early meeting to be set up with the Portfolio Holder to take this forward.
• Meetings between Chill-Out and senior council officers to work together on policy and to feed back on hostel provision and statistics.
• A pilot scheme based on Heywood involving volunteers and resources to provide supported tenancies.

Chill-Out organiser Pete Hinchliffe stressed this is not "the end of Chill-Out", he said: "Although the sleep-out is postponed, there is vital work for us to do in helping to draw up and monitor new policies that will provide an effective, caring and compassionate response to those in need that will put people, rather than pounds, shillings and pence, first."