Groundswell Timeline /2020
On 23rd March 2020 the world as we knew it halted and the UK went into lockdown. The subsequent 18months+ were challenging for everyone – especially for those experiencing homelessness, without a safe home to ‘stay home’ in and with many suffering from long-term health conditions increasing the risks of COVID-19.
Groundswells’ work was needed more than ever; as a team we pulled together, collaborated with partners, adapted services, listened and involved our clients to provide crucial support during the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, key players saw homelessness as a health issue for the first time –
something that Groundswell has advocated for many years. This led to the Government’s “Everyone In” scheme, in which hotels were used to accommodate people affected by homelessness. Groundswell staff and volunteers played a key role in ensuring that those accommodated had what they needed and accessed healthcare. Groundswell then pushed for those experiencing homelessness to be given priority for COVID-19 vaccines and supported the roll out and up-take through communications, GP registration, rapid research and influencing national policy.
Read our research ‘Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on people experiencing homelessness’
See the archive of our COVID-19 health information & guides for people experiencing homelessness