The Hamish Allan Centre, where people go at the lowest point of their lives to look for a warm and safe bed for the night, will no longer have a person on-hand but will ask homeless people to call a telephone number for help.

As someone with first-hand experience of homelessness, I can tell you that when you’re in that desperate situation, all you want is someone to speak to in person.

Asking the most vulnerable people in our society to telephone a stranger in the middle of the night, whilst at their lowest point in life, will only go to further stigmatise and isolate them.

Homeless people deserve more than this, especially with winter just around the corner.

Yours,

David Duke

Formerly homeless and founder of Street Soccer Scotland