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Football Club Opens Doors To London Homeless

Crystal Palace have opened up their Selhurst Park stadium to rough sleepers seeking shelter from the winter weather, the English Premier League side said.


An asylum seeker sleeps under a blanket on a bench at a makeshift tent camp where he lives, in Saint-Denis outside Paris on January 10, 2019. Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP
An asylum seeker sleeps under a blanket on a bench at a makeshift tent camp where he lives, in Saint-Denis outside Paris on January 10, 2019.
Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

 

Crystal Palace have opened up their Selhurst Park stadium to rough sleepers seeking shelter from the winter weather, the English Premier League side said.

A lounge at the south London ground can be turned into a temporary overnight shelter for up 10 rough sleepers whenever temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing.

Under a deal with the Croydon Council local authority, people formally identified as sleeping rough are referred to Selhurst Park, where they can access a camp bed for the night, a hot evening meal, breakfast and washing facilities.

Eight people used the shelter on Thursday night, the first time it was opened, the club said in a statement.

The lounge was then converted back again on Friday morning.

“The club wants to be a force for good in the community and we are happy to do our bit to help those most in need,” said chief executive Phil Alexander.