Leamington night shelter makes difficult decision to close overnight facilities

The team at a night shelter in Leamington has had to make the difficult decision to stop providing their overnight facilities due to coronavirus.

The LWS Night Shelter, which is currently based at the Priors Club in Tower Street, announced on Thursday (March 18) that they would no longer be able to host their guests overnight because of the coronavirus outbreak.

However the team have said that they will still be providing food and provisions.

A spokesperson said: "We have made the difficult decision to reduce our night shelter opening to cover food and provisions only, but with no overnight facilities.

"We currently feel this is the most responsible action to take given the current concerns around COVID-19 and limiting gatherings.

"We will serve hot meals on Friday and Saturday nights, and breakfast on Sunday mornings, from our outdoor area. We may also add an additional evening to cover other services closing, but are in discussions about this at present.

"We will be providing food parcels, toiletries and clothes as usual, as well as sleeping bags, blankets and other items to help those rough sleeping.

"We are appealing for volunteers to help us out, as we anticipate a fall in volunteer numbers as more people self-isolate.

"In addition, we have updated our Amazon Wish List to include items such as disposable cutlery, sleeping bags, hand warmers, hot water bottles and joggers, all of which we are expecting to be in high demand.

"If anyone can support us, we would be really grateful.

"You can find out how to volunteer via our website www.lwsnightshelter.org where you will also find the link to our Amazon Wish List.

"We would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and apologise for the disruption to our guests.

"We will continue to support them in the best way we can, while keeping their safety a priority.

"As the circumstances are so uncertain we are reviewing our procedures regularly, and hope to be closed overnight for the shortest length of time possible."