For more than a decade, the Winter Project has minimised the need for people to sleep rough during the worst of Glasgow’s winter weather.

Initially, individuals in need of emergency accommodation were welcomed to stay on mattresses on the floor in Glasgow City Mission’s Night Shelter. This was followed by an Overnight Welcome Centre. As the needs of the community changed, the charity has continued to adapt.

The number of people sleeping rough in Glasgow is now approximately 30. This is a smaller number than most large cities in the UK including Edinburgh. Therefore, this winter, the charity is turning its attention to the 1,400+ people stranded in hostels, B&Bs and hotels in the city.

To tackle this challenge, Glasgow City Mission is growing its housing settlement officer (HSO) team to advocate for as many of the 1,400+ as possible. The HSOs support individuals with moving from temporary to settled housing. They meet people at their accommodation, get full details of their situation and then liaise with the appropriate authorities and the charity’s large network of partners to move these cases forward.

This provides guests with better long-term outcomes, reduces their need for future emergency accommodation, and increases the charity’s capacity to provide beds to those who
urgently need them.

By carrying out this important work, Glasgow City Mission said its HSOs disrupt the vicious cycle that can trap individuals between different forms of temporary accommodation, and help them to secure greater stability in their lives. The team will also continue to work hard with guests who have no accommodation for the night, to find a safe space for them to stay.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “We firmly believe this shift in our Winter Project will provide a more integrative, targeted and effective response to the current housing crisis our community is experiencing. We trust it has the potential to help far more people than our previous projects, and ensure that the number of homeless people in temporary accommodation reduces. We hope that this in turn will free up temporary bed capacity in Glasgow, reduce the amount of money spent on temporary accommodation and, most importantly, move our guests from hostels to a home.”