Winchester homeless charity urge Prime Minister to consider heat risks
Trinity Winchester says the heat can cause dehydration, exacerbating health issues in the homeless
A Winchester homeless charity's urging the Prime Minister to consider the risks that face people who are homeless in the summer.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham made ending rough sleeping his first policy pledge - adding an additional £340m to support it.
Hannah Scott's CEO at Trinity Winchester and says the heat can cause dehydration, exacerbating health issues in the homeless - and needs to be considered.
She said: "Often when we think about severe weather being the colder temperatures and the minus degrees, which are obviously very dangerous for people that are sleeping outside; but equally, so is the heat.
"We might think actually it's drier and warmer, therefore, it's not so risky, but actually, the exposure to the sun that homeless people could be impacted by is really serious.
"This is including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, so it makes access to services all the more important."
Ms Scott added what she'd like to see.
She said: "With Winchester, we are very lucky that the local authority are very, very aware of the needs out there and they are providing what they can.
"I think with Andy Burnham saying that he wants to bring an end to homelessness, that's great that it's high on his agenda; but again, I would urge him to think about these summer months and the risk that brings out for our homeless community."