Museum of Homelessness pilots emergency shelter during severe cold weather

London’s Museum of Homelessness piloted an emergency homeless shelter scheme during this month’s freezing weather conditions. 

The museum crew worked with the community to carry out the winter shelter scheme as part of the local authority's Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (Swep). 

In a statement on its website, the museum said the pilot was “the first time, to our knowledge, that a museum has transformed into an emergency shelter”.

The first guests helped the crew to design processes that would enable the building to operate as a shelter, and collaborated to explore the best way to keep people safe in -4° conditions. 

The museum reported that it was full throughout the severe weather alert and worked in partnership with other grassroot groups and small charities to support those living on the streets. 

Jess Turtle, co-founder of the Museum of Homelessness, said: “We’ve always campaigned for better emergency cold weather provision but for 10 years we haven’t had a building of our own. This winter was the first time that we had a building we could use so it was a no-brainer to pilot a community Swep.”

In October the museum’s annual findings revealed that there had been a 42% increase in the number of people dying on the streets. 

Turtle also cited a recent report about a homeless man who died inside a bin in Camden during the cold weather conditions. 

She said: “It’s very devastating to see this keeps happening. I think the mainstream provision that’s available is failing people. The system is failing people.”

Turtle added that: “It felt really urgent to pilot a community response and to use the space that we have to design a space that was really inviting where people could be safe and warm.”

One of the guests who is currently experiencing homelessness and volunteers at a local food bank brought food and toiletry supplies to the shelter. 

Turtle said: “You just can’t underestimate how much people will take care of each other when the chips are down.”

Turtle also celebrated how the whole community had pulled together for the cause. Local businesses Harris and Hoole, and Stella butchers, donated coffee and meat respectively. 

She said: “We were really proud as well that all the guests said they would want to come back if the weather drops again and people reported that they felt really safe and that the atmosphere was very welcoming and not like other spaces that they’ve been.”

During the winter months the museum is closed to the public. Turtle explained that it would not be feasible for it to operate as a shelter when it is fully open. She also outlined that the small space and lack of facilities would not make it an appropriate site for a long-term shelter. 

She said: “If we can make more community-led offers with community partners who are skilled and experienced in working with homeless people then that would be an amazing thing because it would literally save lives. We’d be happy to help and offer advice to anyone who’s thinking about doing it.”