Tag: homelessness

Dog owners experiencing homelessness given vital lifeline by charity partnership

A year-long partnership between the UK’s largest dog welfare charity Dogs Trust and leading homelessness charity Simon Community Scotland, has successfully increased accommodation and support options for dog owners experiencing homelessness in Scotland.

Through engagement with homelessness service providers in Scotland, a total of 30 have signed up since the launch of the project to develop dog-friendly policies and begin accepting referrals from dog-owners. 

This includes three charities that have developed a charity wide pet-policy, and the project continues to support their services across the country to welcome pet owners. Launched in September 2020, the jointly funded role between the two charities was developed to ensure that fewer dog owners in Scotland have to make the heart-breaking choice between a safe place to sleep or staying with their dog.  

The findings from Dogs Trust and Simon Community Scotland’s partnership highlighted that a lack of pet-friendly policies in homelessness accommodation services is a significant problem for those facing homelessness.

The charities’ joint dedicated, 1-year Pets and Housing Project has been working with homelessness organisations across Scotland to provide tailored support so they can remove barriers and open their doors to dog owners through the ‘Welcoming Dogs’ scheme operated by Dogs Trust.  

One person who has benefitted from the work of the project is Damon, who became homeless when the only hostel space he was offered wouldn’t accept dogs. He feared he would need to give his dog up. Damon describes how Odan saved his life. 

Damon said: “I needed a reason to get out of bed in the morning, I was losing grip on life and I didn’t want to live anymore. Odan has been an absolute godsend to me, and he has completely changed my outlook on life. Odan gives me the energy I needed to push forward with my life, he has given me something to fight for. 

“It means everything to be with Odan. I wish I had the words to express how it feels. Dogs pick up from us how we are feeling, and they know if we’re not happy. The reason that Odan settled, is because I am settled here. It has made a big difference to us to be made to feel so welcomed. “

With support from Simon Community Scotland and Dogs Trust, Damon was able stay with Odan thanks to the local authority arranging pet-friendly emergency accommodation for them. Damon and Odan have since moved into their own tenancy together. 

Cat Birt, Pets and Housing Engagement and Development Officer, who leads on the Pets and Housing Project, said: “I’m really proud of everything that has been achieved over the last year, despite the challenges we have faced as a result of the pandemic, and it has been great to see first-hand how our work has impacted people’s lives.  

“For people facing homelessness, they are more likely to be isolated and detached from society and their pet can be the most loving and consistent relationship they have. We are a nation of dog lovers, and know how pets enrich our lives, so it is vitally important homelessness services recognise the importance of the human animal bond and make changes to their policies, so they provide a service inclusive of pet owners.  

“Thanks to the commitments we have already had by organisations in Scotland to become more pet-friendly, we know our approach is working, but there is more to be done. Thankfully, there is an opportunity for us to roll this project out more widely across the UK and help even more dog owners in need.” 

Hugh Hill, Director of Services and Development at Simon Community Scotland, said: ‘’At the heart of the project was recognising the incredibly positive bond between a dog and their human and the positive difference it made for people at their lowest ebb.

“The impact of Covid-19 has been challenging but what it did do was really highlight the importance of positive, meaningful and loving relationships in all our lives and for the people we support they often only experienced that connection with their dog. Every one of our services is dog-friendly and we will continue to share our approach and resources to any organisation looking to welcome our furry friends.’’ 

A comprehensive report covering the Pets and Housing Project between Dogs Trust and Simon Community Scotland, has been compiled which highlights the progress made over the last year along with findings and recommendations to help ensure that people and their pets can continue to stay together. The full report is available by clicking here.

Dogs Trust will be building on the amazing progress of this project with two new regional roles dedicated to increasing accommodation and support options for dog owners experiencing homelessness and is calling on more homelessness services across Great Britain to adopt a pet-friendly approach. Dogs Trust can support services through their Welcoming Dogs scheme, providing tailored advice and resources on accepting and managing dogs in a safe and responsible way, as well as through the Hope Project veterinary scheme which provides free veterinary treatment.  

For more information about the Hope Project, or to enquire about accessing their support, you can reach the team on 020 7833 7611 or by email hopeproject@dogstrust.org.uk.  

PureGym partners with Social Bite to break the cycle of homelessness

• Led by PureGym Ambassador Sir Chris Hoy, PureGym is partnering with the Scotland-based charity Social Bite, which aims to raise £1 million to break the cycle of homelessness

• Social Bite’s Break the Cycle fundraising campaign includes a 60-mile cycle from Glasgow to  Edinburgh on Sunday 5th September 2021 as well as a number of other physical challenges. 

PureGym, the UK’s leading gym operator, is proud to be partnering with  Social Bite, a Scotland-based charity that aims to end homelessness through pioneering  employment, food, and housing initiatives, on its Break the Cycle campaign.

Led by 6x Olympic  champion and PureGym Ambassador, Sir Chris Hoy, PureGym’s Scottish gym staff and members will  undertake a number of physical challenges to help Social Bite fundraise £1 million to build two new  villages – and they need your help! 

Homelessness is a growing problem in the UK and the current provision of temporary  accommodation like hostels and B&Bs does not provide suitable, supportive, or cost-effective  environments to enable people to escape the cycle of homelessness. Social Bite’s solution is to bring  vacant land back into use by creating community villages with prefabricated housing and a  community hub.

The charity also invests in providing tailored support to upskill residents and  provide them with opportunities that enable them to sustain their own secure tenancies.

The first Social Bite Village was launched in Granton in 2018 and the charity has recently launched  a campaign, in partnership with PureGym and Sir Chris Hoy, to help build two more Social Bite  Villages, which are planned to be in Glasgow and London. PureGym will be supporting Social Bite’s  Break The Cycle fundraising campaign in three key ways:  

• Setting off from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow, supporters will cycle a challenging  60-mile route with Sir Chris Hoy across Scotland’s central belt, crossing the finish line in  Edinburgh – near to the flagship Social Bite Village in Granton. PureGym has built a team of  riders from across all of its Scottish gyms and is encouraging anybody to sign up to join the  team with an exclusive discount code[1]. 

• Supporters can take part in 60-minute charity spin classes every Thursday throughout  August in PureGym’s Scottish clubs[2]. 

• PureGym will be hosting a continuous 24 hour ‘spinathon’ on Wednesday 25 August,  involving gym staff in three of PureGym’s Scottish clubs[3]. 

For anyone not in Scotland, supporters can join the official Break the Cycle virtual challenge or do a  virtual challenge of their choice. Whether it’s being sponsored for 60 miles or 60 minutes of exercise it doesn’t matter – all of the money raised will contribute to Social Bite’s efforts to break the cycle of  homelessness.  

Sir Chris Hoy, PureGym Ambassador and Scotland’s 6x Olympic champion, said:  “The pandemic has exacerbated the already severe problem of homelessness across the UK, whilst  also demonstrating the importance of exercise in protecting the nation’s physical and mental  wellbeing.

“I can’t think of a better charitable campaign to support than Social Bite’s Break the Cycle campaign, which will raise funds to help rebuild people’s lives, whilst also improving the health and  fitness of the nation. We are looking for people across the UK to join in the fight, whether you’re  cycling 60 miles or doing 60 minutes of exercise at home you can help us to break the cycle of  homelessness.” 

Josh Littlejohn MBE, Social Bite co-Founder, said: “We are really excited to be teaming up with  PureGym. The amazing support of their clubs, colleagues and members will help make two new  Social Bite Villages a reality.  

“Since opening the first Village in Edinburgh, 39 people have been helped with a home and support  through the project.  

“The money we raise from our Break the Cycle fundraising campaign will enable us to develop  communities that will have a transformative impact on people’s lives in two more cities. 

We’re so grateful to everyone taking on a challenge – every effort you make and every penny you  raise will be helping someone break the cycle of homelessness. Thank you.”

Edinburgh charities boosted by Amazon team donations

Edinburgh charities Streetwork and Edinburgh Food Project have welcomed donations totalling £10,000 from Amazon Development Centre Scotland.

Streetwork, a service provided by Simon Community Scotland, has been offering care and guidance to those who are experiencing homeless or at risk of homelessness in Edinburgh for 25 years.

The charity provides expert advice and compassionate support, working to connect people to the services they need. The mission of the charity is to enable a life off the streets, showing dignity and respect to everyone.

The charity works with City of Edinburgh Council, so staff have direct links to accommodation that is available immediately. The charity also offers a 24-hour freephone line that provides information for anyone who needs it. 

Edinburgh Food Project operates eight foodbanks across the northwest, central and east of Edinburgh. The charity also offers a range of support to people including housing and benefits advice, a money advice service and a mental health and wellbeing project. 

Edinburgh Food Project’s mission is to provide emergency support to people in crisis whilst also addressing the underlying causes of food poverty. 

Commenting on the donation, Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “We are pleased to support Streetwork and Edinburgh Food Project with these donations.

“We understand how difficult the last year has been for people at risk of hunger and homelessness and these charities have gone above and beyond to support the Edinburgh community.”

Lorraine McGrath, Chief Executive, with Simon Community Scotland added: “We want to say a big thank you to the Amazon team for this donation. It means a lot to us to have this support at this time.

“COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the community and the demand for our services have rocketed. This donation will give our staff and volunteers a boost so we can continue to help those experiencing the most extreme impacts of homelessness including rough sleeping in Edinburgh.”

Angus Robertson, MSP for Edinburgh Central, said: “I welcome Amazon’s donation to Streetwork and Edinburgh Food Project, two important charities making a positive impact in the city.”

Amazon Development Centre Scotland has been based in Edinburgh since 2004 and is responsible for devising and growing innovations that bring new levels of choice and convenience to hundreds of millions of customers around the world. 

It houses teams of leading engineers, scientists, designers and product managers who work on everything from interactive user interface design to large-scale distributed systems and machine learning. 

Community donations are one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19. 

Throughout the pandemic Amazon has provided disadvantaged students with free online STEM resources and supported virtual classrooms with no-cost resources from AWS and Amazon Future Engineer.

The company has also teamed up with charity partner Magic Breakfast to deliver more than four million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas around the UK.

For more information on how Amazon is supporting the UK during COVID-19, click here.

Government announces increased funding for affordable homes

Scotland’s councils are to share more than £3.2 billion in grant funding over five years to deliver more affordable homes. 

Local authorities will benefit from an increase of more than £541 million on the previous five year allocation – an uplift of more than 20%.

Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “We have already delivered more than 102,000 affordable homes since 2007. Building on this, our aim is to deliver 100,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% of these for social rent.

“Meeting this ambition will require continued collaboration across the private and public sectors. I’m pleased to be increasing significantly the available affordable housing grant funding for council areas to help with this important work.

“The five-year allocations will provide the certainty and assurance the housing sector needs to deliver the ambitious affordable homes target set out in our Housing to 2040 strategy.”

COSLA Resources spokesperson Councillor Gail Macgregor said: “We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to contributing to the cost of affordable housing in Scotland. The priority for councils, and housing associations, is ensuring rent affordability and warm, safe, comfortable homes for current and future tenants.

“As we look to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, councils are working side by side with their communities.  We maintain a focus on our shared ambitions around tackling child poverty and climate change, alongside building more houses.”

The City of Edinburgh Council also welcomes the announcement from Scottish Government on a five-year funding package for local authorities and housing associations in Scotland to deliver new affordable homes.

Over the next five years Edinburgh will receive £233.8m grant funding from a pot of more than £3.2 billion announced today which will be shared across all Scottish council areas.

Edinburgh is one of the most pressured housing markets in the country and needs more affordable homes to meet the needs of its growing population.  

City of Edinburgh Council’s Convener for Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Councillor Kate Campbell said: “This announcement of £233.8m funding for housing in Edinburgh from the Scottish Government over the next five years is hugely welcome. Having certainty over future funding puts us in a strong position to continue building that pipeline of social and affordable homes that we so desperately need.

“This will allow us to plan ahead and acquire sites, design and develop new homes and appoint contractors. And not only do we have certainty, we also have an increase of almost £44m from our baseline allocation over the last five years.

“Having recently met with the Cabinet Secretary to set out the challenges in Edinburgh, and the further investment we need, this is a positive response.

“We’ve also consistently received in-year allocations of extra funding when other local authorities have had underspends in their grant. Over the last five years this has amounted to about £40m. Our aim is to continue making the case for any future underspends to come to Edinburgh by making sure that we continue our strong track record on delivery of homes.

“And, because the need for permanent, secure and affordable housing in our city is so great, we’ll also continue to make the case for additional funding for Edinburgh from the national housing budget. But having certainty for the next five years, and an increase in funding, puts us in a fantastic position just now, and gives us a really strong platform to build from.”

Vice Convener for Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work, Councillor Mandy Watt, said: “We have ambitious plans to grow the number of homes we own, which we’ll do by purchasing homes and by building homes through our own housing development programme.

“Alongside this, we’ve got to find ways to deliver more affordable housing through our planning policies. Currently, the minimum amount of land for affordable homes is 25% of any major development. We are proposing that the minimum allocation is increased to 35%.

“As a Council, we’re committed to ending poverty and becoming more sustainable. Our house building programme will make a major contribution towards achieving that.”

Scottish Ensemble & Social Bite serve up Sound Bites

Scottish Ensemble (SE) and Social Bite are teaming up this summer to spread the joy of shared food and live music with new collaboration Sound Bites.

Based on the notion that these simple pleasures are at the heart of peoples’ lives as social beings, Sound Bites connects the worlds of food and music with a themed picnic box available for audience members to enjoy during upcoming performances as part of month-long outdoor festival Live at No.40.

Scottish Ensemble will bring to life Vivaldi’s iconic masterpiece, The Four Seasons, as audiences enjoy a bespoke picnic of handmade goodies sprinkled with a touch of the Four Seasons by Scottish charity and social enterprise Social Bite. Each picnic basket will contain a duo of tasty baguettes with two different fillings, and depending on dietary preference, a selection of pies, frittatas, sausage rolls, salads and even some of Social Bite’s famous brownie bites.

In solidarity with the Social Bite cause to end homelessness and in keeping with its reputation for thinking outside the (picnic) box, 10% of ticket sales for Scottish Ensemble performances are being donated to Social Bite and its work helping and supporting some of the most vulnerable individuals and communities across Scotland and the UK.

Taking place from the 3 July to 1 August 2021, Live at No.40. will unfold at Scottish Opera’s Production Studio car park at 40 Edington Street, Glasgow. Joined by Scottish Opera and Citizens Theatre in a specially created outdoor theatre, Scottish Ensemble will perform four concerts over two days, accompanied by Scottish charity and social enterprise Social Bite.

At a time when the country is cautiously celebrating new beginnings, Vivaldi’s works of art speaks poignantly to disruption and the inevitability of change with piercing precision. By bringing audiences together, not only for possible the first live performance in over a year, but to ‘break bread’ with fellow music lovers, friends and family, SE and Social Bite mark an important milestone during a turbulent time. 

William Norris, Interim Chief Executive at Scottish Ensemble, said: “One of the things we’ve all missed in the last year has been sharing. Sharing time with friends. Sharing experiences. Sharing food. Sharing music.

“Our Sound Bites performances of Vivaldi’s ever-green Four Seasons promise to provide all of the above, but also share a portion of everyone’s ticket purchase with our partners in this project, Social Bite, who do incredibly important work in tackling homelessness.

“We’re really excited to be partnering with them on this project which marks our return to live performance in a characteristically different way.”

Co-founder and CEO of Social Bite, Josh LittleJohn MBE said: “This collaboration will not only be a brilliant celebration of enjoying food, drink and music together, something we’ve all missed over the past year, it’s also an opportunity to bring about real positive change.

“This fantastic event will deliver funding to our innovative programmes that support people out of homelessness and help them to build independent lives.

“We hope everyone who joins us at Sound Bites enjoys the performance, along with our delicious picnics – specifically crafted for this event by our talented kitchen staff of which 1/3 have come from a background of homelessness.

Thank you for your support and for joining us in our mission to ensure everyone has a safe place to call home.”

George Heriot’s pupils raise £2,616 by taking part in Invisible Cities’ ‘In Our Shoes’ Challenge

As part of their Poverty Week focus, students kept their shoes on for 48 hours straight to raise awareness around homelessness 

George Heriot’s School took part in Invisible Cities’ ‘In Our Shoes’ Challenge: an innovative new challenge introduced by the social enterprise, where pupils are asked to keep their shoes on for 48 hours straight (without removing them at all).   

The mission behind the challenge is to help school children to understand more about and discuss some of the issues faced by rough sleepers while on the streets such as podiatry issues, lack of access to adequate shoes, etc.  

Zakia  Moulaoui  Guery, CEO and Founder of Invisible Cities said: “We are delighted to say, that through completing this challenge, George Heriots School raised an amazing £2616 which we split with our fellow social enterprise and friends at the Grassmarket Community Project.”  

Based right next to the school, Grassmarket Community Project have been a long-standing partner of Invisible Cities and have supported with recruiting new guides and working on collaborative projects together.  

Katherine Duncan, Principal Teacher of Curricular Enhancement, explained: “Our Junior School pupils took part in Poverty Awareness Week at the end of March as part of our annual Financial Education focus. 

“It created an opportunity for them to learn more about the causes of poverty (both locally and globally) and how poverty impacts on the rights of everyone affected.   

“Putting themselves “in the shoes” of rough sleepers not only allowed our pupils to empathise with rough sleepers, but also helped them to make a difference by raising £2616 for Invisible Cities and the Grassmarket Community Project.”

Invisible Cities is a social enterprise that trains people who have previously experienced   homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city in Edinburgh, Glasgow , York and Manchester. 

Zakia  Moulaoui  Guery, CEO and Founder of Invisible Cities, said: ” This challenge was designed to give a different perspective on homelessness and focus on a very practical issue that people can face. 

“We are so thankful to the school, teachers and pupils alike for taking part and supporting us with such a generous donation.”   

Jonny Kinross, CEO for Grassmarket Community Project, said: “We are delighted to be one of the beneficiaries of George Heriots School’s incredible fundraising effort as part of their poverty awareness week.

“With this donation we will be able to provide practical support, training, access to free IT classes, free IT equipment, free food 5 days a week and one to one support including counselling and therapies to many of the City’s homeless and vulnerable.   

“As the lockdown relaxes and we are able to provide one-to-one face to face support this donation will enable us to re-connect to people who are exceptionally vulnerable and isolated – to help them sustain their tenancies, ensure they receive the benefits and support to which they are entitled as well as get the emotional and mental health support they need.

“What an exceptional fundraising initiative and our huge thanks go out to the pupils and their families who got behind and will help us to ensure that no one is left behind in the city’s recovery.”   

For more information on Invisible Cities visit https://invisible-cities.org/     

Singh 4 Your Supper!

Social Bite launch ‘at home’ boxes with celebrity chef Tony Singh

Homelessness charity, Social Bite, has launched its very first At Home dining box, giving people across the central belt the chance to enjoy delicious, restaurant-quality dishes at home while supporting those who have experienced homelessness.

The Singh 4 Your Supper menu, is in partnership with Scottish celebrity chef and restaurateur, Tony Singh.

The Indian-themed dining box explores a variety of fresh, rich and aromatic flavours and is a delectable feast for two including eight dishes and a selection of sauces.

Priced at just £60, the menu is perfectly portioned for two people, making it ideal for cosy date nights or to enjoy some alfresco dining with friends.

Each box comes with an easy-to-follow preparation, cooking and plating instructions so that you can create great-tasting food from home but food lovers will have to be quick, with only a limited number of boxes available.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, said: “It’s been great to work with the incredibly talented Tony Singh to help produce our first ever home dining boxes.

“The menu we’ve created gives people a real taste of India and allows them to enjoy the recommendations of one of the country’s top chefs from the comfort of their own home.

“As the world starts to open back up it’s really important to us that we continue to find new ways for people to support the mission of ending homelessness while also enjoying the easing of restrictions.

“Every box purchased helps us in our mission of providing real jobs, permanent homes and support to help get people back on their feet, as well as the wider mission of ending homelessness.”

Each dish has been lovingly prepared by Tony and the Social Bite team at Social Bite’s Central Kitchen in Livingston.

Chef Tony Singh (above) said: “Social Bite is such an incredible cause so when they asked me to get involved in creating some home dining boxes, it was an easy yes.

“My passion is creating delicious, high-quality food, that can be shared together. But what makes these boxes even more special, is that these will be helping to support Social Bite’s mission of ending homelessness.”

To get your hands on this limited-edition box, you can order online from today – Thursday 22nd April. Boxes can be collected from Social Bite Cafes in Edinburgh and Glasgow city centre, as well as their Central Kitchen in Livingston on the 7th and 8th of May.

The Singh for Your Supper menu includes four main dishes: Kerala King Prawn, Butter Chicken, Aloo Chole and Gulab Jamun for dessert along with four sides: Spiced Fur Fur, Paratha, Jeera Pilau Rice and spiced onions with a selection of sauces; mango, mint, yoghurt and tamarind.

These are all the dishes that Tony would usually cook at home for his family so you can dine like a chef and eat like a Singh!

To order your own home dining box or to find out more information, please visit: shop.social-bite.co.uk/singh

Invisible Cities: 500 miles, 5 cities, celebrating 5 years of helping those affected by homelessness

To celebrate 5 years of Invisible Cities, the team are inviting all supporters, friends, partners and customers to take part in a virtual mile-covering challenge, whilst raising vital funds for their social enterprise  

Invisible Cities, the social enterprise operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and York, trains people who have previously  experienced  homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city.

The social enterprise is now inviting supporters, friends, customers and partners to take part in a virtual mile-covering challenge, to celebrate Invisible Cities turning 5.  

From April – July there are 4 legs (one per month) that collectively make-up 500 miles as participants virtually move between Invisible Cities locations. Participants are invited to sign up for one leg, or all 4 and the challenge is to complete the number of miles required for that leg, within the month.   

Each leg varies in distance, so there’s something for everyone, from absolute beginners to fitness enthusiasts alike. The challenge can also be enjoyed as individual or in teams of up to 6, to reach the target miles. People can also choose between walking, running, cycling and swimming when it comes to how they decide to cover the mile target.     

The purpose of Invisible Cities’ virtual fundraiser is to connect individuals with other like-minded people all over the UK to raise money for those affected by homelessness.   

Zakia Moulaoui Guery, Founder & CEO of Invisible Cities said: “After a full year of being stuck indoors, getting outside to exercise is more important for our mental health than ever before.

“As COVID-19 has had a huge impact on homelessness, we thought we’d combine the benefits of outdoor activity with the effort to help support those experiencing homelessness through the pandemic. We really don’t think we could have found a better way to celebrate our 5th birthday!”  

To be part of the latest Invisible Cities initiative participants simply need to fill the form which can be found on the social enterprise’s official website, pay the £10 entry (100% of which will support their work to help combat homelessness) and all details for the challenge will then be emailed directly to them.  

As part of the initiative, Invisible Cities will also set up a personal Go Fund Me account for all ‘challengers’ to share and collect sponsorship and much-needed encouragement from friends and family, and the team will share fun updates about history and homelessness organisations depending on the point reached on the virtual journey.  

They will also receive access to the official Invisible Cities Strava group to track miles and become part of their community as well as receiving virtual updates showing where they are on their journey.   

For more information and to register for the virtual miles-covering challenge visit:   

https://invisible-cities.org/news/2021/500-miles-5-cities-celebrating-5-years-of-invisible-cities

Social Bite launches Break the Cycle campaign

  • Social Bite announce plans to build two new Villages, with target sites in Glasgow and London
  • Olympic hero backing “Break the Cycle” campaign to raise £1m to help fund two new villages, Sir Chris will cycle 60-mile route from Glasgow to Edinburgh with 1,000 fellow riders to raise money for the cause
  • Edinburgh Village project has helped 39 people since July 2018 with 79% saying the village has helped improve their wellbeing

Social Bite, with the support of Sir Chris Hoy, has today announced its latest fundraising campaign Break the Cycle – a 60 mile charity bike ride which aims to raise £1m to help build Social Bite Villages in two new UK cities, with target locations in Glasgow and London.

The Break the Cycle event will take place on Sunday 5th September, with Sir Chris joining 1,000 fellow cyclists as they set off from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow and pedal the 60 miles through to the finish line in Edinburgh, near the flagship Social Bite village in Granton.

Each participant will be asked to raise £1,000 in order to take part and ride alongside the six-time Olympic Champion, contributing to the overall fundraising target. All entrants will also have access to some incredible prizes, from naming a house at one of the villages to winning a signed medal from Sir Chris Hoy himself.

As well as the physical event in September, the fundraising campaign is open to all levels of fitness and ability, with people across the UK invited to take part in their own virtual challenges from March to September to raise money and help Social Bite break the cycle of homelessness.

Friends, families, workplace teams and schools are all encouraged to pick a challenge and get sponsored for doing it. Whether it’s a 60-mile challenge or 60 minutes of exercise, the virtual challenge can be designed to fit what suits people best.

Money raised both on event day and in the lead up through virtual challenges will go towards creating the two highly supported communities with the pro bono help of engineering firm Arup.

The communities will offer a supportive community environment and opportunities to help people affected by homelessness build an independent life.

The goal of the Social Bite Villages is to provide a different blueprint for how we, as a society, respond to homelessness and temporary accommodation – one which puts support and the individual at the centre of the approach. 

The village concept is supported by Dame Louise Casey, the former Westminster homelessness tsar who led the work with helping 33,000 people into emergency housing during the pandemic.

Since launching in May 2018, the Social Bite Village in partnership with Cyrenians has provided accommodation and support to 39 residents, helping them find their feet and permanent homes. 82% of people who have lived at the Village are either still happily housed there or have moved onto a positive destination.

10% of funds raised from the event will also be donated to SAMH, the Scottish Association for Mental Health and further funds will be invested in Social Bite’s mission to Break the Cycle of homelessness by providing food, employment opportunities, and housing projects.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, said: “It’s an honour for us to have one of the country’s biggest sporting heroes support us in our effort to build two new villages for people in a situation of homelessness.

“Sir Chris has been an advocate of the work we do for some time and when we came up with the Break the Cycle concept, we knew there was only one person we wanted to partner with.

“We’re incredibly passionate about our plans for the Social Bite villages. Since opening the first one in Edinburgh, 39 people have been helped with a home and support through the project. Now that we have seen that the model is working, our ambition is to build more in cities across the country and I’m thrilled to announce that this is our intention in London and Glasgow.

“The money we manage to raise from our Break the Cycle fundraising campaign will allow these plans to become a reality and enable us to develop communities that will have a transformative impact on people’s lives. We’re very grateful to all our supporters, including M&G plc who have already signed up as a major partner.”

Sir Chris Hoy said: “I have supported Social Bite by sleeping under the stars each year at their mass participation sleepout events for the last four years.  I have seen the impact of the funds raised and I am passionate about supporting the bold approach to breaking the cycle of homelessness.

“I know times have been incredibly tough of late but I’d encourage everyone to get involved and help raise the funds needed for this extraordinary project and take on their own challenges over the coming weeks and months. I look forward to see those taking part at the starting line …”

Steven McKechnie, Director at Arup, said: “Our society can be a challenging place for those who don’t fit neatly into its expectations and norms.  Social Bite’s ‘villages’ provide a route into society for some of those people. 

“They provide support and shelter and enable the growth of self-worth. They help people to learn how to start growing their roots.  They are more than just a room for the night.  They are beautiful and homely.  They have a sense of place and delight that feeds the soul. 

“We, in Arup, are tremendously proud to have been asked to help with this magnificent project.  We will be contributing ideas and design thinking and will be connecting with our contacts in local authorities, development firms and public bodies to help to select suitable sites. We hope our contribution will be helpful.”

Jim McBride, Head of Homelessness at Glasgow Council, said: “Glasgow HSCP would welcome early discussions with Social Bite to determine how this innovative approach could contribute to the work the city is undertaking to address homelessness and supporting people who present with complex needs.”

To find our more or donate, please visit: breakthecycle.co.uk