Introduction

What would happen if the government of a country decided to try to find everyone who was homeless and living on the streets and offer them a place to live? That is exactly what happened in England as the coronavirus pandemic hit. The government says 90% of rough sleepers were offered rooms in hotels that sat empty because of the lockdown. Simon Maybin spent the past year and a half following the lives of some of the people who came to live in a Holiday Inn hotel in Manchester. Image: A guest at the Holiday Inn.