The £213,216 from Edinburgh IJB will mean that people who have experience of, or are at risk of homelessness will receive the support they need to move forward in life. This money also secures the funds already pledged by the Big Lottery Fund for £98,744.

Gowrie’s Edinburgh Futures service, which operates from the hub in the Southside area of the city, supports vulnerable people to learn independent living skills and experience a range of recreational, educational and social opportunities they would otherwise be excluded from.

Graeme Brown, Gowrie area manager, said: “Social isolation and loneliness can have significantly negative impacts on people’s health and wellbeing. Our hub provides a safe and supportive environment for people to engage with others and build positive relationships with staff, volunteers and peer mentors. We provide both a structured programme of activities, as well as a drop-in facility to ensure the hub is accessible to as many people as possible.

“We offer a wide variety of activities to help people gain skills, establish goals, realise their strengths and work towards tenancy sustainment and employment. These include tenancy skills sessions, cooking and healthy eating workshops, managing money, recovery groups and computing classes.

“We are delighted to have been successful in securing this funding as it will enable us to continue delivering our service with the potential to further develop and expand it within the coming years.”

A client of Edinburgh Futures said: “Coming to the hub is the best thing I have done. I think I’d be dead or back in the jail if I hadn’t started coming along. I don’t know what I’d do if this wasn’t here.”