The charities – Bethany Christian Trust, Glasgow City Mission, Street Soccer Scotland, Rock Trust and Simon Community Scotland/Streetwork – have agreed a formal collective agreement to put the cause of homelessness at the forefront of their fundraising efforts for this year’s Kiltwalk events.

The ‘Together for Homelessness’ campaign will see 100% of all fundraising raised by the charities split equally and directed to the delivery of each charity’s frontline services. The total sum raised will be boosted by an additional 40% by The Hunter Foundation.

The charities hope their approach will result in greater support from many thousands of Kiltwalk participants across Scotland who can now chose one single cause to support – the battle against homelessness – rather than choosing just one charity.

David Duke, founder and chief executive of Street Soccer Scotland, said: “Crucially, each of the charities involved deals with different aspects of homelessness. This approach allows us to collectively campaign in this year’s Kiltwalk with the single aim of having a greater impact on the delivery of frontline services.”

Statistics from the Scottish Government for the six period from 1 April to 30 September 2017 showed that there were 17,797 applications for homelessness assistance, a 2% increase from the same 6 month period in 2016.

Iain Gordon, chief executive at Bethany Christian Trust, said: “Homelessness affects people from all walks of life and does so in many different ways. Those of us in ‘Together for Homelessness’ can help more people in more places in more ways than any of our organisations could individually. We can all have greater impact together. Bethany is pleased to be part of this great initiative. We look forward to teaming up with hundreds of walkers across the country to end homelessness in Scotland.”

Kate Polson, chief executive at Rock Trust, said: “Rock Trust works in partnership with other charities to ensure that young people have the support services they need to avoid, resolve and move on from homelessness. It’s great that we have been able to find a way for people in Scotland to support a range of service and organisations at the Kiltwalk working and walking Together for Homelessness.”

Grant Campbell, chief executive at Glasgow City Mission, said: “Kiltwalk – Together for Homelessness represents an excellent opportunity to tackle homelessness in Scotland. Glasgow City Mission is delighted to partner with other leading homelessness charities – our strength in numbers will enable better outcomes for people battling homelessness across the country.”

Lorraine McGrath, CEO at Simon Community Scotland/Streetwork, said: “We are delighted to unite with partner charities as we raise vital funds to support those people who rely on us to help them resolve their homelessness, transform their lives and improve their access to opportunities. Homelessness is complex and often requires a multi-agency response and partnership working is an important part of meeting the needs of each person. It is in that spirit of partnership working that we are delighted to join forces and raise public awareness of our work across Scotland.”

Fundraisers wishing to support the Together for Homelessness can register by visiting www.togetherforhomelessness.org or the Kiltwalk website.

Four Kiltwalks will be held in 2018 at: