CORONAVIRUS: Leeds GATE tells Local Authorities to act now on Gypsy and Traveller Camps

Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange have today written to all West Yorkshire local authorities asking them to act urgently to ensure safety for Gypsy and Traveller people and their neighbours. We are deeply concerned that in the scramble to respond to the developing coronovirus the needs of some of our most citizens might be overlooked.

Whilst the Corvid-19 Coronavirus is a worry for everyone, Gypsy and Traveller people are particularly vulnerable, especially if they are living on roadside camps (known as unauthorised encampment). Our communities are 3 times more likely to have multiple long term conditions. The reality of living roadside without access to water and sanitation makes universal advice of frequent handwashing more difficult.. Contact tracing can be very difficult in communities that are being evicted frequently and healthcare very difficult to deliver. 

We face the following challenges and appeal to public service providers to consider -

1)      Largely mobile populations and populations with lower literacy are more likely to miss accurate public health messages.

2)      Lack of trust between many GRT people and authorities is a historical reality and therefore advice needs to be communicated effectively and clearly, through trusted organisations and individuals, in a culturally appropriate and sensitive way.

3)   Self isolation would be an impossibility if required to constantly be shifted around. This increases the risk not only to the immediate community but to the wider public. 

In the circumstances we face over the next few months we are calling on Local Authorities to urgently consider periods of negotiated stopping be offered to roadside families in your area, along with provision of water.  This would allow families equity of access to health care and for health staff to be able to deliver the right public health messages. Beside the clear and present danger of significant illness and potentially death among these vulnerable groups, enforced movement is likely to create an additional risk of unmanaged spread of the virus. 

Additionally we hope that any authority also acting as landlord to Gypsy and Traveller sites will be planning to address the vulnerabilities faced by our communities in their Corvid-19 response planning. 

Our organisation is here to assist local authorities in any way that we can.  You can find more information our response to the Coronavirus outbreak on the News and Information button on our website.