Caritas has confirmed its emergency sleeping pods are now available for use.

The two units are in the carpark at the Vale Douzaine. Inside them is a bed, a light, a chemical toilet, and a phone charger.

The pods were installed last month, after the charity was given planning permission for them. That permission came with strict rules that they can’t be used for more than one week by the same person.

Caritas has confirmed they are intended to be a direct alternative to sleeping rough in emergency situations, with referrals managed based on the individual’s need.

The charity will manage a short waiting list where possible if the demand is there.

Caritas Chair, Graham Merfield, previously told Express that he was really pleased to have the pods installed in Guernsey.

They’ve been funded by Northern Trust, while the running costs are being funded from the proceeds of the Big Skipton Sleep Out.

“Knowing that there are people that unfortunately don’t have shelter through the winter, we thought this was a great idea to provide some short term accommodation for people,” said Mr Merfield.

He added that Guernsey is in the dark about the true number of people living homeless, but if demand is high, the charity could look at purchasing more of the emergency shelters.

“There definitely will be usage, we don’t know how much, because, unfortunately, rough sleeping is hidden in Guernsey. We will see how many people come forward to use them, but they definitely will have a use, and if there’s more demand than we can fulfill, we will buy more pods!”

Pictured: Graham Merfield when the Caritas pods arrived last month.

Mr Merfield was asked if these emergency seven night shelters were the answer to tackling Guernsey’s struggles in providing for the hidden homeless. He said it’s not going to solve the problem. 

“I think it’s part of the answer. So this provides short term accommodation while we find some better solutions for people long term but we were really fortunate that Northern Trust supported us to buy these pods so it gives us more funds available if we need to do more.”

Mr Merfield said that anyone questioning whether to enquire about using the shelters should contact the charity directly. 

“Please get in touch with us. We’ll provide shelter and we’ll provide support for you. To help you move to the next stage.”

If someone needs a safe place to sleep tonight:

Call or WhatsApp Caritas: 07911 180263

Email: help@caritas.org.gg

More information is available on the website: Caritas.org.gg