Homelessness

Thousands of festive shoppers chose to purchase with purpose this Christmas by buying over 3,000 ethical Caring Christmas Trees for people in need across Scotland. Homelessness charity Bethany Christian Trust sold thousands of Caring Christmas Trees throughout November and December to both residents

An MSP has called on the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to do more to house former veterans after new figures revealed a rise in the number of army homes left empty. Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show the number of vacant MoD properties in Scotland increased from 690 in 2013 t

A new course aimed at providing people with the necessary skills to help people who are homeless will be launched by the University of Edinburgh this month. Around 40 people are already enrolled on the 10-week Homeless and Inclusion Health course, including 23 bursary students from outside the unive

Midlothian Council has approved its Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan to help end rough sleeping in the region. The Rapid Rehousing approach for homeless households was among the recommendations made by the Scottish Government’s Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) for ending ro

A funding bid to fast-track homeless people in Dundee into permanent accommodation could be made to the Scottish Government, Dundee City Council has said. The local authority’s vision for Rapid Rehousing is set out in a 32-page plan which recognises that a safe and secure home is the best base

Just in time for Christmas, 20 emergency beds have been created for people who are homeless in Edinburgh. The new accommodation has been set up by local homelessness charity Streetwork promising a secure place to stay for people rough sleeping in the capital, helping people get back on their feet ov

West Dunbartonshire Council’s homelessness service will be working around the clock this Christmas to ensure nobody is left out in the cold. As well as their usual office hours, the teams will provide 24-hour assistance, advice and support to anybody who finds themselves homeless over the fest

Big-hearted members of staff at the Tesco store in Dingwall have generously donated gifts to ensure that every child in Ross-shire waking up in homeless accommodation on Christmas morning will have a special parcel to open. For the second year running the Tesco Management team in Dingwall gave up th

BAM Construction’s team working on Edinburgh’s new premier office development, Capital Square, rallied round to donate 120 selection boxes to the Grassmarket Community Project which provides a drop-in meal service for the homeless community. The gift-wrapped boxes will be distributed thi

Jon Sparkes More than 24,000 people in Britain will spend Christmas sleeping rough, on public transport, or in tents – far more than there were five years ago, according to new figures.

A UK Muslim-faith based charity has distributed 5,252 items of winter clothing to homeless and vulnerable people across Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham as part of its Wrap Up 2018 campaign. Human Appeal asked members of the public across the three cities to donate unwanted coats for vulnerable pe

A union for tenants in Scotland will hold a national day of action on Saturday demanding the Scottish Government implements a ban on evictions during the winter months. Recent statistics show that homelessness in Scotland has begun to increase for the first time in a decade, and that almost 100 peop

A Glasgow hub for retailers, entrepreneurs and local creatives has launched a Christmas appeal with Simon Community Scotland to gift homeless people with the essentials they need to survive the winter in the city. The public can donate items to a dedicated drop off site within COLAB which, in partne

Bruce Forbes Bruce Forbes on how charitable fundraising alone cannot solve homelessness and that stating otherwise can understate the severity of the problem.

Kevin Stewart MSP The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has secured Kevin Stewart MSP, minister for local government, housing and planning, to be its opening speaker at its From Homeless to Housed Conference taking place in Edinburgh this week.