Scotland’s Councils are being given an extra £16 million to help tackle homelessness by moving people swiftly from temporary accommodation into settled homes.
The funding, to be awarded over the next two financial years, takes the total investment in rapid rehousing to £53.5 million. Rapid rehousing aims to ensure people spend the shortest amount of time possible in temporary accommodation, giving them a settled place to live as soon as appropriate.
The package includes an investment of £6.5 million in the Housing First pathfinder to support people with multiple and complex needs.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “Tackling homelessness is about much more than just providing a bed for the night. Temporary accommodation is an important safety net, but most people need a settled place to stay where they can rebuild their lives.
“Rapid rehousing is based around the idea that most people need a settled home, and this new funding will help councils progress their Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans to move people as quickly as possible into appropriate, settled accommodation.
“The best way to reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation is to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place, and today’s announcement follows the recent publication of our consultation on plans for new legal duties on public bodies, highlighting the shared public responsibility to prevent homelessness in Scotland.”
Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans cover an initial period of five years from 2019. The new funding comprises £8 million in 2022/23 and £8 million in 2023/24.
Aldi Scotland has launched its ‘Not Socks Again?!’ campaign for the second year running, following its widespread success in 2021, which saw more than 2000 pairs of socks donated to good causes.
The initiative encourages customers to donate any unwanted or extra unused socks they may have received as Christmas gifts to charities supporting people in need across Scotland.
Every year, millions of people receive socks for Christmas that they often don’t want or need, charities across Scotland do, and Aldi’s ‘Not Socks Again?!’ campaign aims to put these gifts to better use by donating new and unused socks to those who need them most.
Aldi’s Sock Amnesty’ boxes will be in stores across Scotland from the 3rd of January until the end of the month, where people can drop off their unused socks to help keep vulnerable people warm this winter.
The Bethany Christian Trust are working toward the goal of ending homelessness in Scotland. The team at the Bethany Christian Trust offer a broad range of services, from assistance with housing, education and employment, to crisis intervention wellbeing support.
Nathanael Smith, Community Fundraiser, Bethany Christian Trust, said: “It’s surprising how much a good pair of socks can make a difference in someone’s life.
“It’s a simple gift that can mean warmth, comfort and dignity to those in need. Thanks to Aldi for making such an amazing project possible.”
Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said: “Following an immensely challenging year, the team at Aldi Scotland were eager to support charities which are working tirelessly to help those in need.
“In winter, charities are always looking for essential items to be donated, and so we thought, why not encourage our customers to donate any unwanted gifts of socks to people who truly need them.
Aldi will also contribute a £250 donation to each charity in the hope of helping the most vulnerable in our communities.
Aldi’s Sock Amnesty boxes will be in store from 3rd January and customers are invited to drop off any unwanted, new and unused, socks which will be donated to the charity in their local area.”
This initiative builds on Aldi’s commitment to supporting communities across Scotland. Since 2016, Aldi’s Scottish Sports Fund has supported over 500 local clubs with more than £290,000 worth of donations.
In addition, Aldi has helped to provide over 10 million meals to vulnerable people across the UK through its partnership with community engagement platform, Neighbourly. Aldi also helped 12 local foodbanks this year after it relaunched its popular Supermarket Sweep programme this year.
To find your nearest Aldi store please visit their website here and donate your unwanted socks this Christmas.
Views sought on proposed legal duties for public bodies
Health and social care services, children’s services, police and other public bodies will have a legal duty to ‘ask and act’ to prevent homelessness under Scottish Government proposals.
The measures would be part of new laws aimed at preventing homelessness, based on recommendations from an expert group convened by the charity Crisis at the request of the Scottish Government. They would represent the biggest change to Scotland’s homelessness legislation in almost a decade.
Public bodies would have a legal duty to identify anyone at risk of homelessness and either take action themselves or refer on to more appropriate help.
A consultation on the plans, run jointly with COSLA, will give people with experience of homelessness, alongside those from the housing sector, public bodies and others, the chance to share their views and help shape Scotland’s approach to preventing homelessness.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “We know that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. These new proposals build on the strong housing rights that already exist in Scotland for people who become homeless.
“Early action should be a shared public responsibility, giving people facing homelessness more choice and control over where they live.
“Homelessness is often a traumatic and unsettling experience that can have a profound impact on the lives of those involved, including children.
“By intervening at an earlier stage, and encouraging services to work together to respond to people’s needs, we can ensure fewer people and families are faced with having to re-build lives affected by homelessness.
“This will further add to our existing ambitious programme of work and investment to ensure everyone has a safe, warm place to call home.”
Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “We strongly support plans for new duties for public bodies to prevent homelessness in Scotland.
“Scotland has made huge progress in its journey towards ending homelessness in recent years, but while the country has powerful protections in place for people experiencing homelessness, far too many people are being forced to reach crisis point before they get the help they need.
“Everyone has a role to play in preventing homelessness, and by introducing new duties requiring public services to ask about someone’s housing situation, and offer them the help they need, we can build a truly world leading system of homelessness prevention.”
Councillor Kelly Parry, COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing said: “People have a right to a place they can call home. Rough sleeping and sofa surfing is something we have always worked to eliminate.
“We welcome the proposal that the duty to end homelessness will be shared with other public bodies and look forward to being closely engaged in the consultation with other partners”.
Social investor reports supporting 184 social enterprises in past year
In turn, investees supported over 1 million people across the UK
Social investor outlines new strategic direction with ambitious target to increase the assets under BII management and advisory to over £500 million by 2030
Big Issue Invest (BII) has launched its 2020-2021 Impact Report.
The report revealed that the social investment arm of The Big Issue, supported 184 social enterprises across the UK with £39.7 million Assets Under Management (AUM) at March 2021*.
The report detailed how, in turn, those 184 social enterprises were able to support over 1.16 million customers across the UK in the same period.
The organisation reported that, of BII’s total investment portfolio, over 62% of the 184 investees of the past year are based in areas of high deprivation**, where capital can have the greatest social and economic benefits, including London, the North East and North West.
20% of BII’s total portfolio is invested into organisations directly tackling inequality in the UK in order to improve health, education and job outcomes in deprived areas.
BII’s investments in Scotland, the North East, East Midlands and the East of England have significantly increased during the period.
For example, £5 million was invested in Scotland- based social ventures with a major investment in the social lettings agency Homes For Good.
£1.7 million of investment was made into social enterprises in the East of England, with a change in value percentage of 667%.
Of the total number of investments, 16% support people living in poverty and/or financial exclusion, 11% support people living in precarious housing or who are homeless, 12% support vulnerable young people, 11% support people experiencing unemployment and 9% support people with mental health needs and conditions.
The top five Sustainable Development Goals contributed to by BII’s investees were: Good Health and Wellbeing (31%), Decent Work and Economic Growth (17.4%), Sustainable Cities and Communities (16.3%), Quality Education (10.3%) and Reduced Inequalities (8.2%).
The report showed that 9,490 people are employed by BII’s investees across the UK and provide 6,900 volunteering opportunities for people in local communities. It also revealed that 76% of investees focused their impact at a local rather than national level.
The report detailed BII’s support of social enterprises during the pandemic. BII provided £3.2 million of grants to 118 grantees across England as part of the National Lottery Community Fund’s ‘Social Enterprise Support Fund’ and supported the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund to disburse £5.5 million through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
It also provided 61% investees with repayment holidays. Over 50% of BII’s investees managed to grow or maintain their work during the Pandemic.
The report also laid out the foundations of the new BII strategy: We Back Human Potential. BII’s new strategy, which includes an ambitious target to increase the assets under BII management and advisory to over £500 million by 2030.
Danyal Sattar, CEO of Big Issue Invest, said: “In the past year, we have been inspired by the way that social enterprises and charities across the UK have responded to the unprecedented challenges faced by their communities whilst also overcoming challenges within their organisations.
“I am proud of the Big Issue Invest team who have worked tirelessly in supporting our investees to keep the lights on, adapt to new operating environments and to continue to deliver impact to their customers.
“We were part of two major sector responses to the pandemic: the Social Enterprise Support Fund and the Resilience and Recovery Loan Fund. On top of this, we continued to support over 180 organisations with £39.7 million of investment.
“During this period, we have launched a brand new strategy as an impact investor. Driving everything we do, we will champion impact-first investing; we will push for social equality and we will provide a broader range of support that is ‘more than money’.
“Over the last 12 months, BII has continued to prioritise improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in our work. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our investees for their engagement on this issue, as well as our many partners and the networks in the sector who continue to push the social investment and social sectors to be more inclusive and accessible to social purpose organisations and the wider communities they support.”
New figures published by the National Records of Scotland show an estimated 256 homeless deaths across Scotland in 2020, with 33 estimated homeless deaths in Edinburgh.
The figures show the need for urgent change according to Lothian Scottish Greens MSP Lorna Slater.
Lorna Slater MSP said: “These shocking figures reveal the tragedy of homeless deaths in Edinburgh and across Scotland. There can be no doubt that change is urgently needed.
“As part of our cooperation agreement with the Scottish Government, we have committed to ending homelessness and protecting the rights of tenants. With these vital changes, I am confident that we will see these unacceptable figures falling in the years to come.
“A new deal for tenants will deliver a private rented sector regulator, place restrictions on evictions over winter, introduce penalties and compensation for illegal evictions, and see a national system of rent controls introduced.
“Rolling out the housing first approach is a key part of tackling homelessness. This approach recognises that housing is a human right and focuses on finding people a settled and secure home. It is a model that is specifically tailored for homeless people with complex and multiple needs.”
Social Bite lights up major cities encouraging kindness this Christmas
Charity aims to provide 300,000 gifts, meals and essential items to people experiencing homelessness this Christmas
Christmas trees with donation points installed in five cities, Edinburgh London, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee, to emphasise that ‘in a world where you can be anything, be kind.’
Social Bite’s Festival of Kindness has launched in five cities across the UK today, expanding on last year’s campaign, in a bid to spread some much-needed festive goodwill and kindness.
The charity is asking people in Edinburgh, London, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee to donate meals, gifts, essential items and accommodation to those who need it most this Christmas.
Through the campaign, Social Bite has set a target of providing 300,000 meals and essential items of the winter months to those experiencing homelessness this festive period.
Working alongside local partners, Social Bite has installed five 28ft tall Christmas trees across the country and is asking people to buy one extra gift, drop it under the tree and contribute to a movement of kindness.
Festival of Kindness locations include:
· St Andrew’s Square, Edinburgh
· Charing Cross Station, London
· Vinicombe Street, Glasgow
· Outside M&S at the Bon Accord centre, Aberdeen
· City Square, Dundee
The charity has created a gift wish list of the things homeless and vulnerable people need the most – from a warm pair of gloves, a hot water bottle and a torch, to good quality socks and toys for children living in temporary accommodation to open on Christmas morning.
Passers-by can drop their gifts at the trees and take in the Christmas lights, meet Santa in Edinburgh and hear more about Social Bite’s ambitions from volunteers. All gifts will then be distributed by Social Bite’s dedicated team to those who need it most, just in time for Christmas.
Social Bite co-founder and Executive Director, Josh Littlejohn MBE, said: “This Christmas, many of us will be able to reunite with family and friends to celebrate after so many restrictions.
“But for homeless people and families, the pandemic has made their situation particularly desperate. Thousands of people all over the UK will spend Christmas on the streets – cold, hungry and lonely, without a family to go to. Thousands of children will find themselves in temporary emergency accommodation or without food on the table over the festive period.
“That’s why we are building on the success of last year’s campaign to expand our reach even further, going from two to five locations and taking Festival of Kindness to London for the very first time.
“Our Festival of Kindness campaign aims to spread some festive cheer. In a world, where you can be anything, we’re urging people to be kind and buy or donate a little extra to help those who need it most – even the smallest of gifts will make a huge difference.”
Monetary donations can also be made online via the Social Bite website which will then go towards the provision of food, gifts and essential items.
Donations will also help fund accommodation and support for those sleeping rough in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and London.
Social Bite has a track record of successful fundraising campaigns, having previously hosted ‘Sleep Out’ events in all major Scottish cities, then helped to launch The World’s Big Sleep Out for a global campaign attended by Hollywood A-listers including Dame Helen Mirren and Will Smith in 2019.
Last year’s Festival of Kindness held in Edinburgh and Glasgow raised over £1.5m.
All gifts should be new and unwrapped, with a helpful ‘how-to’ guide on their website.
Lothian list MSP Foysol Choudhury visited Streetreads Library yesterday.
Streetreads has been taking books and stories out to people affected by homelessness for several years , and in August 2021 opened a library space in the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church at 25 Nicolson Square.
This initiative has been backed by leading city authors such as Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin, and the publishers Canongate, who have donated several titles of their own.
The Labour MSP said: “I’m fully behind the fantastic work Streetreads does.
‘’This library is about so much more than just books and offers a number of ways to connect with stories including. running classes and events helping people connect with their world, where people can listen, take part and create their own stories and provide audio books and the tech for people to listen to them.
“During Scottish Book Week, I am pleased to have been able to highlight this project, which serves as a great reminder that we really must ensure everyone has access to the world that is opened up through books “
Streetwork, a service provided by Simon Community Scotland, has received £2,000 from Amazon Development Centre Scotland.
Streetwork 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.
Amazon has made several donations to this charity in the past.
Commenting on the donation, Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “Streetwork at Simon Community Scotland provides a vital service for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Edinburgh.
“We have supported the charity since 2017 and we’re pleased to give the staff and volunteers another boost with this donation to help them to continue the fantastic work that they do in our community.”
Murray Easton from Simon Community Scotland added: “We’ve enjoyed a great partnership with the team at Development Centre Scotland over the last few years and I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done.
“We are progressing with some very exciting projects in Edinburgh and this support will make a real difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness.”
Edinburgh Central MSP Angus Robertson said: “Streetwork and the work the Simon Community Scotland do is vital for helping tackle homelessness and connected issues in Scotland.
“I am pleased to see this donation from Amazon which will help provide crucial advice and care of those experiencing homelessness.”
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 online STEM courses 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:
Discover the Scottish capital from anywhere in the world
Alternative tour guide company Invisible Cities has developed a new virtual tour of Edinburgh using innovative 360° technology.
The initiative evolved from a year of Covid-19 restrictions when the in-person city walking tours that the social enterprise specialises in were not always possible.
Developed in partnership with 360 Virtual Studios, which provides virtual technology marketing solutions for the arts, culture and tourism industries, the tour allows viewers to discover the spectacular sights of the Scottish capital from wherever they are located around the globe.
Available in full 3D reality for those who own goggles or through a cardboard version supplied by Invisible Cities, the new tour will be launched at a special virtual event on Zoom on November 3rd when participants will be able to ask questions and hear about Invisible Cities’ future plans.
Tickets are priced £10 per person and those who sign up in the UK can also order a special Tour Box containing goodies such as chocolate, tea and coffee from fellow social enterprises and further information on Edinburgh and how this virtual came to life-to be delivered for them enjoy while they watch the excursion unfold.
Zakia Moulaoui Guery, CEO of Invisible Cities says: “The pandemic has made us look for alternative ways of touring the world and launching our 360 Virtual Tour of Edinburgh is such an exciting step for us.
“We are very grateful to 360 Virtual Studios who supported us every step of the way with this. The use of virtual technology is not something we could have done on our own. It was also made possible thanks to Adapt & Thrive funding.
“We can’t wait for people to discover Edinburgh in a brand-new way and our tour box just adds a little bit more comfort to the whole experience.”
Invisible Cities trains people who have previously experienced homelessness to become walking tour guides of their own city. They offer a number of themed family-friendly tours across the UK in cities including Edinburgh, Manchester, Glasgow, York and Cardiff.
Adapt and Thrive is a Scottish Government’s funded programme which aimed to support third sector organisations financially affected by the pandemic to change, flex, innovate, or grow so they can be resilient and financially sustainable during and post COVID-19.
360 Virtual Studios’ Managing Director: Michelle Milnes says: “360 Virtual Studios are absolutely thrilled to partner with Invisible Cities in helping to open up our beautiful capital city to be viewed by a global audience, whilst generating vital funding for this wonderful social enterprise.
“As innovators of virtual technology in Scotland, we’ve already seen how virtual tours have provided a vital income stream for many organisations during lockdown. We’re excited to see how our 360 virtual video can give a boost to these sectors in a post-pandemic world.”
New UK-wide programme launched to help people experiencing homelessness into employment
Social Bite has launched a pioneering initiative to help revolutionise the access people who have experienced homelessness have to job opportunities across the UK.
Through its new Jobs First programme, Social Bite will work directly with some of the UK’s biggest employers to help breakdown the barriers people who have been homeless face on their route to employment
To date, businesses including BaxterStorey, Mitchells & Butlers, Andron FM, have signed up with a plan to help create a target of 60 employment opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. The program is being part funded through a grant from the Oak Foundation.
The initiative, which guarantees living wage employment for each person, will provide wrap around support for both the employer and employee.
Each Jobs First employee will be allocated a support worker from Social Bite who will assist them throughout the programme and their employment contract, meeting weekly to offer practical support on bills and forms, as well as emotional guidance and confidence building to adapt to working life.
Social Bite will provide training to each employer to help them appropriately guide the employee while the support worker will help facilitate appraisal processes and employee progress.
As measures put in place in response to COVID-19 are wound down, it is feared that more people will experience homelessness with latest statistics released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) showing that many of these measures helped to reduce and prevent homelessness.
Data in London shows that between April and June this year, the number of people sleeping on the streets increased by 25 per cent, making Social Bite’s Jobs First initiative even more timely. Firms across the UK are also sounding the alarm over staff shortages, with Britain’s worst labour shortage in decades putting economic recovery from lockdown at risk.
George Watson kickstarted the programme today, taking on his role with hospitality provider BaxterStorey who supply Royal Bank’s Gogarburn headquarters in Edinburgh where Social Bite recently opened a café.
Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, said:“Social Bite started life nine years ago by offering jobs in a small café to people who had experienced homelessness and over that time we have seen the power of employment to change lives.
“Too often, the response to people experiencing homelessness is to ‘get a job’ – however, it’s not that easy. Proactive employers stepping out of their comfort zone to provide chances for those who would otherwise be excluded and a wraparound support alongside the job are the solutions.
“That’s why the Jobs First programme is so important. We will match people who are excluded from the jobs market with some of the UK’s largest employers.
“The wrap around support we will provide will help both employers and employees enjoy a fruitful working partnership. At a time when the UK is facing a serious labour shortage, we are incredibly proud to be partnering with major employers to deliver a program of scale throughout the UK that can act as a blueprint for how we can provide employment opportunities for homeless and marginalised people.”
Over the past four years, Social Bite has supported 34 people into employment from a background of homelessness and in total, one quarter of its workforce has experienced homelessness.
Of the 34, many have moved into employment roles with other companies, some into higher education and in many cases, they have developed careers within Social Bite. These learnings have formed the basis for rolling out Jobs First across the UK.
Operations Manager, Caroline Bacigalupo at BaxterStorey, said:“Jobs First is a fantastic programme and we’re proud to be working with Social Bite to offer training and employment opportunities to people who were previously homeless.
“We’re all thrilled to welcome George on board and can’t wait to support other Jobs First employees reach their full potential as the programme develops.”
George Watson said: “Social Bite has been like my family for the past seven years. I am really excited to start my job role with BaxterStorey. I am grateful for the Jobs First programme and hope it will help many others into employment.”
