How the Library can help
If you or someone you know is experiencing homelessness, please know that you are welcome to join the Library without providing an address - when you sign up at Reception, just write 'no address' on your joining form and there will be no questions asked. It's free to join the Library and there are no late fees.
The Library provides:
- A safe, neutral, and welcoming space
- Shelter from the weather
- Free access to books and other resources
- Health and wellbeing information
- Free access to computers
- Opportunities to engage and connect with other people, if you want to
Thanks to our partnerships in the community we can also signpost you to other organisations who may be able to offer support.
For a list of contacts and services available in Guernsey, click here.
Homelessness in Guernsey
In 2024 a new charity, At Home in Guernsey, was launched to help tackle the island's significant hidden homelessness problem.
The charity has been set up by the Guernsey Community Foundation. In their recent report on homelessness, they make clear that this doesn't have to mean sleeping rough - if someone is sleeping in their car, relying on friends to put them up, or staying in hostels and B&Bs, they are experiencing homelessness.
You are only properly housed if you live in accommodation which:
- you can afford
- is accessible, in decent condition, and large enough to meet your needs; and
- you are not worried about losing it at short notice.
If you lack any one of these you are insecurely housed, and if you lack two or three you are considered to be homeless.
In 2023, the States estimated that more than 1,000 men, women, and children are insecurely housed or homeless - an increase of 50% since 2016.