A service providing emergency accommodation for people sleeping rough over winter will be able to continue throughout the year, thanks to a funding commitment by the City of Edinburgh Council.
The Welcome Centre, run by Bethany Christian Trust at the Council-owned ELS House on Gorgie Road, was due to cease operations at the end of April. The service will now be provided until March 2027, following a funding decision by Finance and Resources Committee on 28 April.
The Centre currently accommodates 64 households who have been rough sleeping in Edinburgh. Service users are offered three meals a day and support from Bethany paid staff, volunteers and Council officers to help access further accommodation.
Councillor Tim Pogson, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Bethany Christian Trust provides an essential service for people facing rough sleeping in Edinburgh and over the last three decades has helped thousands of people to secure a warm and safe place to sleep, particularly over the colder winter months.
“We don’t want people to have to sleep rough at any time of the year though, so I’m really pleased that we’ll be able to keep the Welcome Centre open throughout 2026.
“Reducing homelessness, and where possible preventing it in the first place, is central to our Housing Emergency Action Plan, alongside ambitious plans to increase the city’s housing supply, making sure everyone has somewhere to live.”
Alasdair Bennett, Chief Executive, Bethany Christian Trust, said: “It is a desperate circumstance to face the prospect of sleeping rough, and worse still to experience the trauma and harms involved.
“The Welcome Centre is a service borne out of adversity to relieve suffering and meet long-term needs when people have nowhere else to stay. I am deeply grateful to the many volunteers, supporters, churches, and our charitable and statutory partners who together enable this life-saving work, sharing a commitment to offer not only shelter and sustenance, but hope, dignity and the opportunity for a new start.
“We are very grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council for making this significant next step possible, and for the shared commitment to provide both immediate support and pathways out of homelessness all year round. As someone said to me recently: ‘when is it ever warm enough to be homeless?’
“Finally, I want to thank our staff team. Their dedication to love and service is inspiring. In the last 30 weeks alone, 400 people have been accommodated, supported and helped to move forward, each knowing that they are valued and cared for.”
Bethany Christian Trust has operated winter care shelters in Edinburgh since 1996 and the service has since evolved to provide 24/7 accommodation and support for people who would be otherwise sleeping rough from October to May each year.
The Welcome Centre moved to ELS house on Gorgie Road in 2025.
The Council’s Housing Emergency Action Plan sets out the requirement for a year-round Welcome Centre to meet increasing demand in the city.
Find out more about the Bethany Christian Trust Welcome Centre.