Homelessness and inclusion charity Cyrenians has appointed a manager for the Social Bite Village set to provide a home for up to 20 people affected by homelessness.

With almost 50 years’ experience in delivering residential community models to those affected by homelessness, Cyrenians is now journeying with Social Bite by providing the support and care for the community of the purpose built village located in Granton.

The aim of the village is to empower residents with the skills required to maintain an independent and meaningful life away from homelessness and the issues which may have contributed to their homeless experience e.g. unemployment, relationship breakdown, debt, addiction, mental health.

Cyrenians has appointed an internal member of staff to the role of manager for the village. Kathy Hoyle started her career as a professional chef before gaining a degree in Social Anthropology with Development. She joined Cyrenians as a volunteer in 2006 before moving into a job at Cyrenians Communities, supporting young people directly affected by homelessness. After this, Kathy took on a role supporting people to maintain accommodation in the private rented sector as an alternative to homelessness, before spending four years working for Cyrenians Homeless Prevention Service and then joining Cyrenians Fareshare Depot as deputy manager in 2012.

Kathy has a wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting those affected by the tough realties of homelessness; she is professional, genuine, caring, highly personable and committed to making the village a great success.

Kathy said: “I am thrilled to be managing such an exciting and innovative project. The village has the potential to be an enormously transformative and supportive place for people to live whilst they tackle some complex challenges.

“With the support of Cyrenians, the residents will have an opportunity to live in a community where they will be given the space to form relationships and build up skills. This feels like an opportunity for us to make history and I am very excited to be part of that.”

Kathy will be taking part in Social Bite’s Sleep in the Park event on December 9, and she will be at the Cyrenians stall. She welcomes people to come and have a chat and ask any questions they might have about the village.