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A message from Homeless Link CEO Rick Henderson, to the homelessness sector:

I’m writing this in response to the shocking events around the country that we have witnessed over the weekend.

First of all I hope you are all safe and for any of you living or working in the areas where there has been civil unrest I hope you or your families were not caught up in it. Please do reach out if there is anything I or Homeless Link can do to help.

Secondly we have to acknowledge that the attacks on asylum hotels brings this issue into our professional sphere. These are the very same hotels that our sector used to accommodate homeless people during the pandemic and many of them are still used as temporary accommodation for homeless individuals and families. In addition, our sector has worked closely with migrant and refugee organisations to both support good practice and raise concerns with government about the treatment of asylum seekers in this country under the previous ‘hostile environment’ agenda.

These attacks are misguided, Ill-informed and often instigated not by local people but by extreme political elements looking for a soft target and an excuse for violence. Homeless Link will stand in solidarity with our colleagues in the migrant and refugee sectors and with those individuals who have been driven out of the only home they have by extremists.