homelessness – Page 3 – The NEN

Give the Gift of Home this Christmas

Social Bite reveals ‘Nest House’

Social Bite reveals first-look of new ‘Nest House’ design in Edinburgh for Villages in Dundee and South Lanarkshire
‘Nest House’ unveiled as part of charity’s Festival of Kindness campaign which aims to provide 300,000 gifts, meals and essential items to homeless and vulnerable people this Christmas

Leading homelessness charity, Social Bite, has unveiled its new ‘Nest House’ prototype, as part of the launch of its fourth annual Festival of Kindness.

Kicking off the campaign in Edinburgh yesterday, Josh Littlejohn MBE, founder of Social Bite, unveiled the new Nest House design which will feature in two planned new villages – one soon to be announced in South Lanarkshire, and the other in the recently announced Recovery Village in Dundee.

Located in St Andrews Square in Scotland’s capital, the Nest House will give an insight into the plans for the new village in South Lanarkshire, as well as the state-of-the-art Recovery Village in Dundee, both planned to open in early 2025.

As part of the charity’s Festival of Kindness campaign, the public are being encouraged to ‘give the gift of home’ and can make a donation to the new Villages which put dignity and support at the core of recovery and people’s journey out of homelessness.

Social Bite’s Festival of Kindness campaign has run nationally every year for the past four years with the aim of providing 300,000 gifts, meals and other essential items to homeless and vulnerable people this Christmas.

Donations can be brought to the tree itself located outside Charing Cross Station on the Strand or made online, with a wish list of gifts published that homeless and vulnerable people need most at Christmas.

In addition, five ‘Trees of Kindness’ have been installed in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and London where donors can bring a physical gift which will all be distributed to homeless and vulnerable people in time for Christmas.

Donation stations will launch today (Saturday 18th November) in Edinburgh’s St Andrews Square. A donation station was also launched at Charing Cross station on The Strand in London yesterday.

Donations will be able to be made in other major cities this month from:

29^th November – Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow
30^th November – City Square, Dundee
1^st December – St. Nicholas Street, Aberdeen

For those who can’t make it along to the Festival of Kindness donation points, contributions can also be made online to the ‘Festival of Kindness’.

The charity has published a wish list of items and gifts that vulnerable people and those experiencing homelessness need most at this time of year. These include a warm pair of gloves, a hot water bottle and a torch, good quality socks and toys for children living in temporary accommodation to open on Christmas morning.

Donors can also buy a Christmas dinner, a gift, a pack of essential items and overnight emergency accommodation for £28.

With homelessness in Scotland reaching record levels, more children than ever living in temporary accommodation and rhetoric of ‘lifestyle choices’ of those experiencing homelessness making headlines, Social Bite is on an urgent mission to raise funds and donations for those who need it most, and is calling on big-hearted Scots to help them provide essential items and some much needed joy to those who need it most.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, founder of Social Bite, said: “This year we have seen an increase in homelessness in Scotland to record levels.

“From Covid, to the cost of living crisis, and now unfortunately, misleading commentary from some high-profiled politicians, those experiencing homelessness have been subject to the toughest few years we’ve seen; so once again we are asking the people of Scotland to join us in helping raise critical funds for those that need it most at Christmas.

“As well as donating towards Christmas dinners and gifts, this year we are also asking the public to give the gift of home by donating towards two new villages.

“The proposed new Villages will be amongst our most important projects to date and that’s why we wanted to give donors the option of helping us create these crucial facilities. We are thrilled to welcome the public to see our prototype house being displayed in St Andrews Square.

“We believe that everyone, no matter their circumstances should be treated with respect and dignity, which these homes reflect in their design.”

Change Waste Recycling to provide funding for Social Bite village as part of new partnership with Social Bite

The three-year partnership will include over £62k of funding, support and jobs for people experiencing homelessness in the UK

Change Waste Recycling, a leading waste and resource management company, has announced a three-year partnership with Social Bite, a charity dedicated to ending homelessness in Scotland and across the UK.

Under a new ownership structure, Change Waste Recycling has chosen a new charity partner. The decision to partner with Social Bite was made after careful consideration by its leadership team and 55 dedicated staff members. This choice was motivated by the recognition of several key synergies between the two organisations.

Change Waste Recycling, which provides award-winning recycling and waste management services, and Social Bite who provide homes, jobs, food, and support to empower people to transform their own lives, both share Scottish roots and have grown nationally, to drive change, challenge the status quo, and provide innovative, high-quality solutions for issues within environmental and social sectors.

The partnership will see Change Waste Recycling raise over £62k for Social Bite across three years, to help deliver some of Social Bite’s ambitious projects including the plan to build two new Social Bite Villages.

Since the partnership launched, Change Waste has also employed someone through Social Bite’s Jobs First programme which provides supported employment for people who have experienced homelessness.

Employees at the organisation are participating in Social Bite’s year-round campaign initiatives, including its annual Christmas campaign – Festival of Kindness – which aims to provide hot Christmas meals and gifts to people most in need over the winter months.

Further to financial and fundraising support, the organisations will be working together to provide training to Change Waste’s drivers, empowering employees on what to do in a situation where a driver suspects someone needs immediate aid and support. Change Waste Recycling will be branding the company’s fleet of vehicles, to raise national awareness of the partnership and its support of Social Bite’s mission to end homelessness.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, co-founder and Executive Director of Social Bite, expressed his gratitude for the partnership, saying: “We’re incredibly thankful to the Change Waste Recycling team for their decision to partner with Social Bite.

“We’ve seen how powerful partnerships like these can be for providing real lasting change and we couldn’t be prouder to partner with a company that shares similar values and believes in a brighter future. The partnership will play a huge role in the support we provide to people experiencing homelessness “

Forbes Connor, CEO at Change Waste Recycling, echoed this excitement, stating: “We’ve admired the inspirational and transformative work Social Bite does for a long time now, so to have the opportunity to support them over the next three years is something we’re very proud of.

“Social Bite has such a positive impact on the lives of so many people, and I’m thrilled that the team and I will be able to support this important cause.”

For more information about Social Bite and how to get involved, please visit:

https://www.social-bite.co.uk/ .

For more information about Change Waste Recycling, please visit:

https://changewasterecycling.co.uk/ .

EDINBURGH DECLARES HOUSING EMERGENCY

Shelter Scotland welcomes Edinburgh’s housing emergency declaration

https://twitter.com/i/status/1720109347743666177

Councillors in Edinburgh have overwhelmingly voted to recognise and seek to address the scale of Edinburgh’s housing crisis.

In a first for the city, members agreed to officially declare an emergency today (Thursday 2 November) during a Full Council meeting.

It comes as Shelter calls on local authorities to take concerted action across the country, and as homelessness reaches close to 5,000 households a night in the Capital despite a huge amount of preventative work by the third sector, Council and partners.

Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: Edinburgh is a caring, welcoming city and our council officers, charities and partners do an incredible job supporting our most vulnerable residents. Sadly, however, despite us doubling the Council’s homelessness budget over the last three years, we are now at risk of failing households who need our help most.

“Edinburgh may be a wealthy city on the surface, but we are seeing demand for homes far outstrip supply. Close to 5,000 households including many children will need to live in temporary accommodation this Christmas, because of this housing shortage.

“This is not a new challenge, but it is at the stage of breaking point. Rents are being driven up, the cost of living continues to put pressure on household bills and homelessness is rising. We have ambitious housebuilding plans, but we face rising construction costs as a result of inflation and difficulties securing land. This is against a backdrop of Edinburgh having the lowest proportion of homes for social rent in all of Scotland.

“By declaring a housing emergency, we hope to draw widescale attention to an issue that demands urgent and united action. Every single person deserves a warm, safe, and affordable place to call home and we can address this, if we act now.

“I’m pleased this decision received such powerful support today from Councillors and we will now work towards establishing a Housing Emergency Action Plan, while seeking the resources necessary to achieve its success.”

Shelter Scotland has welcomed the City of Edinburgh Council’s declaration of a housing emergency.

The capital becomes the first city in Scotland to declare a housing emergency, with councillors backing a motion at today’s full council meeting.

The motion also commits the council to developing a housing emergency action plan alongside key housing, social justice, and other stakeholders from across the city.

The housing and homelessness charity pointed to the chronic shortage of social housing in Edinburgh, the record numbers of children stuck in temporary accommodation in the city, and the rising average cost of private renting as evidence of a housing emergency in Edinburgh.

Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said: “Rents are out of control, record numbers of kids have nowhere to call home, more and more people are becoming homeless – Edinburgh is clearly in a housing emergency.

“The housing emergency is touching communities across Scotland, but a chronic lack of social homes, and the enormous number of properties used exclusively for short-term lets are just some of the factors which have made the situation especially acute in Edinburgh.

“By coming together to acknowledge that reality today, councillors now have licence to deliver the emergency response we need.

“Of course, there are aspects of the housing emergency that are beyond the council’s control, both the UK and Scottish governments must share responsibility, but it’s clear that a business-as-usual approach isn’t going to cut it anymore.

“People in the capital are crying out for action – every level of government has a duty to respond.

“Today’s declaration of a housing emergency is just the start of the journey; Shelter Scotland is ready to support the council as it prepares its action plan and we’ll be monitoring progress closely.”

Scottish Labour Lothians MSP Sarah Boyack has today called on the Scottish Government to provide targeted and substantial resource to fix Edinburgh’s housing Crisis.

In anticipation of the City of Edinburgh Council declaring that Edinburgh is facing a housing crisis, Sarah Boyack MSP asked the First Minister to provide the resources and funding needed to fix Edinburgh’s broken housing market.

Commenting Ms Boyack said, “Humza Yousaf’s empty words at FMQs do nothing to alleviate the concern of the 5000 families living in temporary accommodation here in Edinburgh.

“With rents skyrocketing and families being forced out of Edinburgh the SNP Government has presided over a national failure in housebuilding.

“We need more affordable and social housing in Edinburgh, and with 84% of Scotland’s population growth being concentrated in the Lothians we urgently need the funding to address Edinburgh’s housing crisis.”

Lesley Anderson, Regional Director at the Scottish Procurement Alliance – which was crucial to the delivery of 567 affordable homes last year, including 193 in Edinburgh – commented on the city’s housing emergency.

She said: “The announcement of Edinburgh’s housing crisis is no surprise and a clear wakeup call that we need immediate action to empower social landlords to get social homes back on track.

“It’s a Scotland-wide problem. By providing better funding and cutting the red tape, we can enable associations to deliver quality, community-driven social housing.

“With a raft of head winds facing the housing sector at the moment, Scotland’s Housing to 2040 vision will be a major challenge to achieve.

“Other regulations and aspirations aren’t helping the cause. With the uncertainty of the proposed Scottish Passivhaus equivalent standard from December 2024, adding to the hefty load the sector is already carrying.

“Recent rent freezes, soaring prices, inflationary pressures, skills shortages and sustainability of contractors have all played a part in the reduction of new build development and existing unoccupied social housing.

“Housing providers across Scotland need more support and guidance if they are to have any chance of meeting government-led targets and manoeuvre this crisis. “

Support to leave an abusive relationship

Financial support to help women and children

Women experiencing domestic abuse will be able to receive up to £1,000 from a new pilot fund to pay for the essentials they need when leaving a relationship with an abusive partner.

The £500,000 Fund to Leave will be delivered by Women’s Aid groups in the five local authority areas with the most women’s homelessness applications due to domestic abuse.

In 2022-23 almost a quarter of all homelessness presentations by women and their children were due to a violent or abusive dispute in their household.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “Both tackling homelessness and ending violence against women and girls are key priorities for the Scottish Government. People should feel safe in their own homes but, sadly, too often this is not the case.

“Leaving a relationship with an abusive partner is dangerous and difficult, and financial dependence on the abuser is often the biggest barrier. The Fund to Leave will help to reduce the financial burden of leaving an abusive partner by helping to pay for the essentials that women and children need, including rent and clothing.

“This is just one of the ways in which we can work towards a Scotland where women and girls live free from violence and abuse in their homes.”

Chief Executive of Scottish Women’s Aid Marsha Scott said: “Survivors have told us for decades that the biggest problems they face in extricating themselves from abusers is the danger of retaliation, their lack of financial independence and the fear of destitution.

“Whether survivors and their children can stay in their homes or need or want to move to other accommodation, paying the rent and putting food on the table are still a struggle.

“After years of advocating for speedy, accessible, and practical help for leaving, we are utterly delighted to welcome this fund and to help with getting it out to those who need it as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Chief Executive of Fife Women’s Aid Kate McCormack said: “Fife Women’s Aid are delighted to be part of this important and helpful initiative.

“Domestic abuse is a significant cause of homelessness among women and children in Fife. Financial insecurity is one of the barriers to escaping abuse so this fund is very welcome.”

Grants will be available as part of a pilot until 31 March 2024.

Dining with dignity: Social Bite announces new location for Pay It Forward meals service

Social Bite announces new location for Pay It Forward meals service that allows people experiencing homelessness in Edinburgh to ‘dine with dignity’

A VITAL service that has served thousands of free meals to homeless people in Edinburgh for more than seven years has unveiled a new location in the capital.

The Social Bite Pay It Forward programme, which was set up in 2016 and has since provided more than 11,000 meals allowing homeless people to ‘dine with dignity’, will operate from The Bon Vivant, in Thistle Street, from January 2024.

The move follows the closure of Vesta, on Queensferry Street, after the sale of the building it is based in.

The Bon Vivant will open its doors on the last Tuesday of every month between 2-4pm to people experiencing homelessness in the capital who will be provided with a two-course meal funded by Social Bite and diners at the restaurant who choose to ‘Pay it Forward’ by adding a donation to their bill.

The Bon Vivant Pay It Forward service is just one of Social Bite’s many programmes to support people experiencing homelessness across Scotland and the UK, which includes the provision of daily breakfasts and lunches to vulnerable people in each of its cafes in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and London.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, co-founder and Executive Director of Social Bite, said: “Since opening in 2016, Vesta has served more than 11,000 two-course meals to people experiencing homelessness in a setting where they can dine with dignity, a fact we are incredibly proud of.

“Whilst Vesta will be closing following the sale of the building, the vital work will continue, and even expand, as we take it to the new location of The Bon Vivant. A big thank you to everyone who has supported Vesta over the years as we look forward to this exciting new partnership.”

Antonia Jackson, Managing Director of The Bon Vivant Group, said: “We all recognise the important work carried out by Social Bite in Edinburgh and beyond, and The Bon Vivant Group is delighted to support the charity’s aims through this new partnership.”

Vesta will close on Sunday, October 22, and Social Bite is working with a range of restaurant partners to provide new employment opportunities for Vesta team members.

The new Pay It Forward service will kick off from January 2024 at The Bon Vivant on Thistle Street. If you are in a situation of homelessness, you can register interest in dining at The Bon Vivant in January by visiting the charity’s cafe on Rose Street, Edinburgh.

For more information about Social Bite and how to get involved, please visit social-bite.co.uk/.

Shelter Scotland take to Edinburgh’s streets to mark World Homeless Day

Shelter Scotland staff and volunteers will take their campaign against the housing emergency to the streets of Edinburgh today to mark World Homeless Day.

Campaigners will be out in force at the foot of Leith Walk issuing a Housing SOS.

The charity will be highlighting the increasing number of people experiencing homelessness and asking the public to join in it in demanding urgent action to address the capital’s worsening housing emergency.

At 12:00 activists in Edinburgh will be joining campaigners in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow in a “minute of noise”, letting our politicians know loud and clear that they need to act now.

World Homeless Day is marked each year on October 10^th and unites activists working across the globe to end homelessness.

The latest figures released by the Scottish Government showed a 25% increase in the number of people who became homeless in Edinburgh in 2022/23, while more than 2,700 children in the city are stuck in temporary accommodation.

Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said: “Edinburgh’s housing emergency is getting worse; and across the country it is devastating lives so today we’re sending out a housing SOS.

“A household becomes homeless every 16 minutes on average, while 45 kids each day lose their home in Scotland.

“What’s so frustrating is that it doesn’t have to be like this, we know that by delivering social homes the government can end our housing emergency and give hope to the thousands of people across Scotland experiencing homelessness.

“That’s why this World Homeless Day, we’re out on the streets of Edinburgh not only demanding urgent action from those in power but urging the public to join our fight as well.

“At 12 o’clock we’ll join together to make a noise that politicians can’t ignore, to demand they make sure everyone in Edinburgh has somewhere to call home, and to remind them that none of us will be quiet until the job is done.”

Pet Fostering Service Scotland calls for ban on restrictive housing policies

Call comes as the charity struggles to find homes for all animal companions after record number of people look to put their pet up for fostering after being made homeless

Animal care charity Pet Fostering Service Scotland is calling for an end to restrictive housing policies after its service has seen a record number of people looking to put their pets up for fostering.

The charity has seen over 1,000 enquiries to use Pet Fostering Service Scotland’s aid this year, a rise in over 20% compared to last year, and is now unable to find a foster home for all pets of owners in need, which could result in pets not having a safe place to stay.

With pets often abandoned by the people they depend on for care and support, Pet Fostering Service Scotland helps those in emergency situations who are eager to keep their furry companions.

Due to a multitude of reasons, pet owners can experience serious disruption to their home lives, often resulting in the dilemma of how to survive whilst also keeping their beloved pet.

Pet Fostering Service Scotland is a charity which has been supporting pet owners for 40 years. Now, the charity is calling for a ban on restrictive housing policies.

Those who have been evicted and made homeless can often feel there is no option other than to abandon their pets. According to the charity implementing less restrictive housing policies could avoid situations like these taking place.

Often accommodation for those who have either been made homeless or require refuge has a no pet policy. There has also been a rise in pet owners looking for new accommodation that accepts pets, currently having to wait one year for suitable housing to become available.

As a result, Pet Fostering Service Scotland has had to put pets into fostering for a year or longer, which is detrimental to the animal’s health as it is too long a period. This can also be distressing for owners due to the loss of consistent and familiar companionship provided by pets.

The cost-of-living increase has had a significant impact on finding temporary accommodation for those who have been made homeless, as most housing options exclude the homing of pets.

Pet Fostering Service Scotland has processed over 1,000 enquiries for pet care across Scotland this year. 37% of those were from people in a homeless or re-housing situation and as a result could not care for their pets in the short term.

Bob Sinclair Chair at Pet Fostering Service Scotland said: “For those who have been made homeless or are facing an emergency situation, being housed alongside their beloved pet is so important.

“The significance of the companionship between a pet and owner is important for wellbeing for both sides. Changing restrictive housing policies and allowing pets into temporary accommodation could be life changing for these individuals and result in far fewer abandonment scenarios.”

The Pet Fostering Service is non-chargeable and relies solely on donations for the work they provide, and volunteers can apply to become pet fosterers.

Pet fostering gives volunteers the companionship of a pet without the long-term responsibility and can bring a sense of reward from helping those in need, both human and animal.

The charity currently has over 300 volunteers.

If you are interested in fostering a pet or want to hear more about the charity, please visit https://www.pfss.org.uk/

Four Square: Springboard Project

The Springboard programme is for young adults aged 16-25 who are currently either at risk of homelessness or accessing homelessness services across Edinburgh.

Participants will be able to gain qualifications in Emergency First Aid at Work as well as Elementary Food Hygiene. We will support the group with employability skills such as CV writing, Job Interview Skills and Job Applications.

We also run workshops focused on mental health and wellbeing as well as weekly social outings to encourage participants to form lasting friendships.

The programme also includes a 3-day Residential trip with the Scottish Outdoor Education Centre to allow the participants to try their hand at some adventurous outdoor activities like rock climbing, abseiling, archery and much more!

Bus fare can be covered by Four Square and lunch will be provided on each day of the course.

Self-referrals can be made by emailing springboard@foursquare.org.uk

How Edinburgh’s Family and Household Support Service works to ‘get it right for everyone’

Edinburgh’s Family and Household Support Service has prevented at least 350 households from becoming homeless, a council report has revealed.

At a meeting of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee this week, councillors heard how the service is providing a citywide approach to ‘getting it right for everyone’ – with the aim of helping vulnerable residents before it’s too late.

Through referrals from sources such as teachers, housing officers and social workers to police officers and politicians, it has been possible to intervene early in many cases to help households in Edinburgh access the right advice and support.

Around £300,000 in welfare has been sourced to support families referred to the service, alongside advice on issues as varied as parenting, addiction, employment and health and wellbeing, according to the council report.

Working directly with teams which handle antisocial behaviour complaints and neighbourly disputes, the service is also working to prevent repeat instances of antisocial behaviour by working holistically with those involved to assess any support needs.

The Committee also heard how the service is successfully helping tenants sustain their tenancy once they move into a new home. Edinburgh’s ‘Keys and a Kit’ programme as it has been dubbed features sessions on finances, health and local community resources and activities to help new tenants settle in, which can be particularly important following a long period of homelessness.

By making the best use of limited resources by working collaboratively with charities and others, it is also estimated that this preventative approach has provided a saving to the council of close to £6m since 1 April 2022.

Councillor Jane Meagher, Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener, said: “Every day, our tenants are interacting with council services – be it for health care, school, or welfare. These services need to be joined up so that we can better support the whole life of a tenant and it’s great to see the difference this ‘getting it right for everyone’ approach is making.

“Thanks to early intervention from council workers and from our partners, we’ve prevented homelessness for hundreds of households. Families entitled to benefits have been helped and tenants moving into new homes have been supported.

“Plus an extra advantage of this has been £4.5m of costs associated with homelessness avoided in the last year alone, at a time when our finances are under immense pressure.

“I hope to see us build on this even further now that the Family and Household Support Service reports into the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Committee.

“I’m confident that we’ll be able to draw this work together even more and build in other measures, such as noticing when a tenant’s home may be suffering from damp or is in need of an essential repair.”

Cyrenians: ‘It’s in our power to turn the tide on homelessness’

10,000 children in temporary accommodation in Scotland

An annual update on Homelessness Statistics covering 2022-23 has been released by Scotland’s Chief Statistician.

Findings for that period show:

There were 39,006 applications for homelessness assistance – an increase of 3,247 (9%) compared with 2021-22, and higher than pre-pandemic (37,053 in 2019-20).
There were 32,242 households assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness – an increase of 2,903 (10%) compared to 2021-22, also higher than pre-pandemic (31,618 in 2019-20).
There were 15,039 households in temporary accommodation at 31 March 2023 – a 6% increase compared with 14,214 at 31 March 2022. This compares to 11,807 at 31 March 2020.
The number of children in temporary accommodation has increased to 9,595 in March 2023 from 8,805 in March 2022 (9%). This compares to 7,355 at 31 March 2020.
Households becoming homeless from a private rented tenancy have been reacting to legislation changes. There was a low of 3,049 in 2020-21, following emergency COVID-19 legislation (11% of all homeless households). Since this was lifted in May 2021, numbers have been increasing, reaching 2,990 across the first six months of 2022-23 alone (19% of all homeless households). However, the cost of living legislation introduced in October 2022 to protect renters resulted in a drop to 2,200 for the second six months of 2022-23 (13% of all homeless households).
There has been an increase in rough sleeping, with 2,438 households reporting rough sleeping during the previous three months and 1,500 the night before the application. These remain lower than pre-pandemic and are the same proportions of all applications as the previous year (6% and 4% respectively).
Homelessness applications that closed in 2022-23 which used temporary accommodation spent 223 days in temporary accommodation on average. This increased from 214 days in 2021-22 and 175 days in 2017-18, when the time series started.
There were 445 instances of households not being offered temporary accommodation. This is a decrease of 38% compared to 2021-22. Almost all of these (420) were in Edinburgh.
83% of households assessed as unintentionally homeless secured settled accommodation in 2022-23, increasing from 82% in 2021-22.
The average length of time to close a homelessness case has been increasing over time and reached an average of 266 days in 2022-23. This compares to 262 days in 2021-22 and 226 in 2019-20.
Of the 32,242 homeless households: 62% of applicants were aged 25 to 49; 66% were single person households; 85% of applicants were of White ethnicity; and 51% of applicants had at least one support need.
There were 275 applications nationally which reported being from a Ukrainian displaced household, this accounts for 0.7% of the total.

Responding to yesterday’s release of homelessness figures for 2022-23 from the Scottish Government, showing a 10% increase in households experiencing homelessness in Scotland, Ewan Aitken, CEO of Edinburgh homelessness charity Cyrenians, said: “We are in the grip of a housing emergency in Scotland.

“That something so fundamental, something most of us take for granted – a safe and secure home – is out of reach and remaining out of reach for so many is an unconscionable reality made clear in today’s figures.

“Over 15,000 households, including children and families, refugees, those who have experienced trauma and abuse, and those with complex needs (over half of those assessed as homeless have additional support needs) are spending months and years in varying types of temporary housing solutions across Scotland.

“And those temporary solutions – some is housing of a standard we would not consider safe or secure – is stretched to breaking point, with the average time spent before moving on to stable housing now sitting at 223 days.

“As homelessness presentations continue to rise and the backlog in housing continues to build, we need to see urgent action from the Scottish Government and local authorities to end this crisis.

“That means substantial investment in social housing, land reform, and improving the supply of affordable homes which meet people’s basic needs. But housing alone isn’t enough – we need to address this as the public health crisis it is, and urgently invest in ways to tackle homelessness before it happens through early intervention, social support, community care, and ending poverty.

“The last child poverty figures, published back in March of this year, told us that nearly a quarter of children in Scotland are living in poverty. We now know how many children are homeless – nearly 10,000 living in temporary housing solutions. We can’t live with these figures.

“Homelessness happens because of poverty and huge health inequalities, creating lasting impacts that echo through people’s lives. That so many people are experiencing this is a tragedy – but it’s in our power as a nation to prevent.

“Every day charities like Cyrenians make a significant impact, but in order to stop these numbers continuing to rise, we have to see a collective commitment to sustainable prevention activity.

“In next week’s Programme for Government, the Scottish Government has the opportunity, by prioritising affordable housing, new and long term funded prevention duties, and social support, to turn the tide on this crisis.

“We hope these latest numbers force a commensurate response – we can’t turn our back on the human cost of the housing crisis.”

No more excuses: Edinburgh needs more social homes

Shelter Scotland reacts to latest homelessness stats

Leading housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland has slammed government inaction on the housing emergency following the publication of new homelessness figures.

Statistics released by the Scottish Government today show a shocking rise in child homelessness in Edinburgh and that families are facing long stays in temporary accommodation.

There was also a 28% increase in the number of Edinburgh’s households becoming homeless compared to the previous year.

Nearly 1,600 children became homeless in Scotland’s capital over the course of last year, a 16% increase, while more than 2,700 kids are trapped in temporary accommodation, a record high for the city.

The figures also show the council is struggling to meet its legal obligations, with homeless services busier than ever. People entitled to temporary housing are being turned away or being housed in grim conditions, unsuitable for their needs.

The charity said the figures were a direct result of decades of underfunding social homes and a consistent failure of governments to fix Scotland’s broken housing system.

Meanwhile, City of Edinburgh Council also came in for sharp criticism from the charity after it reduced its affordable housing delivery targets.

Assistant Director of Shelter Scotland, Gordon MacRae, said: “These horrifying new figures add to the pile of mounting evidence that Edinburgh is in the grip of an unprecedented housing emergency.

“While responsibility for the housing emergency ultimately lies with the Scottish Government, the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision to lower its affordable housing delivery targets demonstrates a startling lack of ambition and a worrying disdain for meaningful accountability.

“For decades social housing has been neglected and this is the result; thousands of kids in Edinburgh with nowhere to call home.

“It is utterly shameful.

“We have some truly fantastic housing rights on paper, but the fact is they’re being breached as a matter of course in Edinburgh and the capital’s homelessness service is on its knees.

“There is no mystery surrounding the solution to this emergency, no need for more summits or round tables to puzzle out an answer. Edinburgh needs more social housing, and we need it now.

“The First Minister has repeatedly said that his mission in government is to end poverty, child poverty especially, in Scotland. There can no hope whatsoever of achieving that aim unless he and his ministers commit to serious investment in delivering social homes.

“The 2,700 kids in Edinburgh who are having their childhoods robbed can’t wait a second longer for politicians to get their act together.”

@CllrChalmersSNP the @COSLA Community Wellbeing Spokesperson on yesterday’s Homelessness Statistics. “These statistics are about real people.”: