Alison Boulton digs beneath the city's dreaming spires

During the recent wuthering winds, and face-lashing rainstorms, I’ve peered through the window and decided to stay put.

Others are not so lucky. They don’t have a roof to shelter under. They’re the rough sleepers. We see them all the time: in shop doorways swathed in blankets, begging outside supermarkets, sitting on the steps of the Martyrs’ Memorial with their dogs, their bottles and their oaths.

Even in bitter winter conditions, the rough sleepers keep coming. Freezing, wet and miserable, they remain. But help is at hand. Oxford’s No Second Night Out (NSNO) initiative means just that: no second night on the streets for legitimate rough sleepers, whenever possible. Run by the charity Broadway Homelessness and Support in partnership with Oxford Homeless Pathway NSNO means that any rough sleeper’s plight can be swiftly addressed.

Each night, outreach workers comb the city, locating rough sleepers, verifying their homeless status and directing them to a bed the next day at O’Hanlon House, the purpose-built homeless hostel in Luther Street, off St Aldate’s which provides emergency accommodation and resettlement programmes for up to 56 homeless people.

Once there, the individual’s needs can be assessed: high rates of drug use, alcoholism and mental health issues beset homeless people.

These intractable issues are tackled in the most effective way to help the person sustain a life away from the street.

Julian Housing provides second-stage support, for individuals who are willing to work to a clear plan of action towards independent living. “In this way, the most vulnerable are prioritised, and those forced to live on the streets don’t become entrenched rough sleepers,” Lesley Dewhurst, chief executive of Oxford Homeless Pathways (OxHoP) told me, as she showed me the comfortable and well designed rooms available in O’Hanlon House.

A cleaner and use of a laundrette and kitchen is also available. Daily activities such as cooking, music and art classes are organised on site, and individuals assessed for training programmes run by local further education colleges. “Keeping busy is key to weaning people off hard drugs like heroin.

People relapse, but the support is here. “Giving to beggars is giving to drug dealers. If you want to help the homeless, give directly to a charity, not to an individual,” Dewhurst said.

The remarkable stories by homeless and formerly homeless people in Oxford have been collected into a book My Story is both revealing and affecting. It’s available from Oxford Homeless Pathways at oxhop.org.uk

The public can help identify a rough sleeper in Oxfordshire by calling the NSNO hotline on 01865 304611 or emailing info@nsno-oxford.org who can then assess their needs and how to help.