An Edinburgh-based homelessness charity will be able to continue running a ground-breaking initiative in the city for the next year after a four-figure donation from one of Scotland’s leading family firms.
Cyrenians approached the Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust over concerns for the future of their Homeless Navigator Project, which helps homeless men and women in Edinburgh access and engage with the support they need to secure safe accommodation and get their lives back on track.
“We focus on prevention and reaching those at the edge of homelessness, as well as those in crisis and in recovery,” said the charity.
“Beyond providing direct support to those experiencing street homelessness, we work to prevent homelessness in the first place by alleviating poverty, tackling food insecurity and providing support to families and young people.”
The Homeless Navigator Project offers potentially life-changing support to around 80 homeless people in Edinburgh – a street-based initiative delivering street-based emotional and practical help.
Navigators meet people where they are and help them on a journey to where they want to be. They operate in pairs in the centre of Edinburgh three times a week and develop trust-based relationships with people who may have had past negative experiences with support services.
Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust – the charity arm of Allied Vehicles Group in Glasgow – gave the group £2,000 to continue the Homeless Navigator Project.
Calum Wright, Cyrenians fundraising coordinator, said: “The recently released homelessness figures make for grim reading, with rough sleeping on the rise across Scotland.
“Thanks to the generosity of funders like the Allied Vehicles Charitable Trust, our Homeless Navigator project will be able to respond to this rising need and continue to offer life-saving support to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
“By offering a friendly face and building trusted professional relationships, our staff are able to work with those who are street homeless for as long as it takes for them to get their lives back on track.”
David Facenna, Allied Corporate Culture Director, added: “Behind the rising homelessness figures are real people who have fallen on hard times, many through no fault of their own.
“The Homeless Navigator Project is a novel way of trying to tackle it and I hope our donation will help Cyrenians keep it running over the next year.”
