Martin Gavin

Homeless Network Scotland recently made over 1,000 cash payments of £100 to people affected by homelessness, thanks to the Scottish Government’s Wellbeing Fund, supported by SCVO and the Hunter Foundation. The one-off payment was available to households in temporary homelessness accommod

Today, 21 third sector organisations that care about ending homelessness in Scotland, known collectively as Everyone Home, (SHN 21/05/20) publish their first route-map to help guide the sector out of lockdown and the emergency measures put in place during March to accommodate people sleeping outside

The combined data on the Housing First Scotland Pathfinder programme is now available covering both April and May, when housing allocations all but stopped. Significant additional pressure across the public and charity sectors, including organisations delivering support to tenants, has been on a sca

Today, Thursday 21 May, 19 organisations that care about homelessness in Scotland will present a plan to the Scottish Government setting out what they believe needs to be done to end rough sleeping and tackle homelessness in Scotland. Martin Gavin, Homeless Network Scotland’s Head of External

Martin Gavin, Homeless Network Scotland’s head of external relations, looks at how to frame discussions about what happens next, so that the best ideas surface quickly. Since the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group (HARSAG) recommendations were submitted in 2018, centred around rapid

Today would have been the annual Housing First Scotland conference in Edinburgh, an event that last year attracted 350 delegates and speakers from across the world. The theme was going to be a celebration of the first full year of the Housing First Pathfinder, and today Homeless Network Scotland, wh

This week, Martin Gavin, Homeless Network Scotland’s head of external relations, looks at the impact of COVID-19 on people who take drugs and what can be learned from what has been put in place so far. Across the UK innovative and pragmatic examples of policy adapting to necessity are surfacin

In 2018/19, 1,822 homeless applications were recorded as having been from people leaving prison, which represents five per cent of the total. It is likely that this figure does not represent the full scale of the problem, with applicants often unwilling to reveal their background. With discussion ar

The response from the homelessness sector to COVID-19 continues at pace. Assessing whether the measures introduced in the past two weeks are the right ones, and what aspects we might want to retain, must be guided by people with expertise both as practitioners and through their own lived experience,

The GB-wide charity Crisis is urging organisations working in the homelessness sector to apply for funding through its emergency grants fund, launched at the end of March.

In his second blog as Scottish Housing News’ temporary special correspondent on homelessness, Homeless Network Scotland’s head of external relations Martin Gavin gives his take on the Emergency Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill. Homelessness is unlikely to be one of the enduring memories of th

Homeless Network Scotland is partnering with Scottish Housing News to collect and share the experiences and challenges faced by its members, the wider homelessness sector and people confronted directly with homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis. In response to the emergency, Homeless Network Scotl