Hotel rooms opened up to the homeless at the start of the pandemic should be part of London’s long-term strategy to help those on the margins, front-line workers say.

But advocates also stressed that using hotels as a step toward getting a home works only if there’s housing to move into, and called on all levels of government for more income and rental help.

“We definitely know there’s a need now for something like this (the hotel rooms),” said Kristy Bell, manager of outreach services and My Sisters’ Place shelter. “We’ve seen incredible success throughout the pandemic. It’s definitely a dream of ours to keep this going after the pandemic.”

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