Reaching people who have been let down so many times they’ve stopped expecting anything different takes time, consistency, and trust. The Winter Surge project does all these things and more.

Running every November to March for the past four years, the Winter Surge project – part of our Higher Needs Floating Support service – provides high support temporary accommodation for 17 beds, daily welfare checks, and intensive, trauma-informed care for Bristol’s most entrenched rough sleepers.

Commissioned by Bristol City Council as part of its cold weather provision, it brings together a powerful network of partners including St Mungo’s Outreach, Social Care, Homeless Health, drug and alcohol services and housing providers.

Team Manager Sam Scott has been involved in shaping the project from the start – from planning how it works and selecting temporary accommodation providers, to troubleshooting, managing risk, and feeding back learning to improve the service year-on-year. She says it has been a privilege:

“Bristol City Council gave me the opportunity to run Winter Surge and the autonomy to shape it into what it’s become. From the planning stages right through to being on the ground – it’s an extraordinary project to be part of.”

A landmark year

This winter, 42 people came into the service and not one of them went back to the streets. This is the result of a small, skilled team of support workers focused on stabilisation, move-on planning, and wrap-around support covering mental health, safeguarding, benefits, addiction, and wellbeing. After the project ended on 31 March, the wider team makes sure clients move on from the service smoothly with no gap in care.

There are some truly amazing personal stories hidden behind the headline numbers. Four clients who had resisted support for years agreed to come in and stayed for the full duration. One man, who had been living with undiagnosed cancer for over three years, was supported by the team to access hospital treatment. He has now had two major operations and is receiving ongoing care. Sam said:

“It’s our patient, trauma-informed relationship building that makes all the difference. I’m so proud of the team and the work we’ve done, particularly this year when not one person went back onto the streets.”

Building trust where it’s been broken

At the heart of the Winter Surge is a commitment to breaking the cycle that sees the most vulnerable people going through many services and feeling constantly let down. The project successfully reduced evictions, improved access to housing, rebuilt confidence in receiving support, and promoted a My Team Around Me approach, ensuring every agency took genuine ownership of their role in a client’s journey.

This is what person-centred, trauma-informed care looks like in practice, and this year it worked for every single person who walked through the door.

Image L-R: Amy O’Loughlin, Sam Scott, Emma Ireland