Shelter Scotland’s much loved January Stockbridge new year launch event returns for its 21st year on Wednesday 3rd January 2024.
Running since 2003, the event attracts excited shoppers from across Edinburgh and beyond.
Every year, staff and volunteers at the Stockbridge shop offer up a huge range of some of the most exciting and intriguing items donated over the course of the year.
With a scintillating selection on offer, this year’s extravaganza is sure to create a real buzz among the Capital’s collectors, connoisseurs, and fashionistas.
Bookworms can grab a signed first edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or a first edition of HG Wells iconic The War of the Worlds.
The designer brands on offer include Armani, Gucci, and Ralph Lauren.
For homeware enthusiasts there are beautiful vintage coffee sets tea-sets, and Portmerion China.
All that in addition to a range of records, pop-culture collectables, board games, jewellery, art, and more.
Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said: “For more than two decades now the Shelter Scotland’s January Stockbridge launch event has been marked in the calendars of Edinburgh’s discerning shoppers.
“Scotland is in a housing emergency: there are more than 9,500 children in Scotland with nowhere to call home, more and more people are becoming homeless, while the housing budget has just been slashed.
“Your support keeps us in the fight against homelessness, so ahead of this exciting event I’d like to thank all our customers and donors for their generosity.”
Shetler Scotland Stockbridge Shop Manager, Peter Jew, added:“I can’t wait to welcome all our customers to what is at this point an almost legendary event in Edinburgh.
“This is a chance to showcase and celebrate our donations and we’re immensely grateful to everyone who contributed.
“This year we have a truly magnificent selection on offer, this is a great opportunity to grab something special while supporting Shelter Scotland in the fight against the Housing Emergency.”
A leading housing and homelessness charity has claimed the Scottish Government has no plan to arrest the continued decline in social housing delivery.
Shelter Scotland made the claim last week in response to figures showing that social house building has slowed down significantly.
The numbers show the number of new social homes completed in the 12 months to September 2023 was down 2%, the number new social homes approved was down 18%, while the number of new homes started was down an alarming 29% compared to the year before.
Shelter Scotland Director, Alison Watson, said last week:“The alarming decline in the delivery of social homes shown in today’s figures reflects Scottish Government choices.
“Ministers can’t claim to be ignorant of what this means; it means that an already devastating housing emergency will get worse and continue to devastate lives.
“Local housing officers, charities, and the experts in its own working groups have repeatedly and clearly told the Scottish Government that more social homes are needed to effectively fight the housing emergency and reduce the numbers of people trapped in temporary accommodation, but their words have gone unheeded.
“Scottish Government choices made the decline shown in today’s figures grimly predictable.
“Unless we see something different in the budget the only possible conclusion we can reach is that the Scottish Government has no serious plan to tackle homelessness and end the housing emergency.”
Christmas cinemagoers in Edinburgh get the chance to enjoy a new heart-warming animated short film this month and raise funds for the homeless.
The Scotsman Picturehouse on North Bridge, The Cameo Cinema in Home Street and the Dominion Cinema on Newbattle Terrace are among cinemas all over Scotland showing Scottish author Angela Proctor’s festive story Arthur’s Christmas Tale.
Angela, who writes under the name AH Proctor, initially crafted the story as a poem highlighting kindness and homelessness for schoolchildren doing a charity sleep-in.
The tale of a brave little dog defying a Scrooge-like misery guts who despises Christmas was so successful that she has now transformed it into a short film, Arthur’s Christmas Tale, to raise funds for Shelter Scotland.
The animation features a little pug, Arthur, who encounters cold-hearted Jack Frost as he watches over his homeless master, James, sleeping on cardboard in the snow. The little dog wins over the icy, stranger with an act of kindness demonstrating the true spirit of Christmas.
“I love Christmas, I’m a big kid at heart, although I’m not really interested in presents,” says Angela, also a successful businesswoman, mentor and mother.
“It’s family time I love and togetherness and spending time with loved ones is what is reflected in Arthur’s Christmas Tale. The little dog is happy because he’s with James whom he loves unconditionally. He feels sorry for Jack Frost because he’s all alone, so sorry in fact that he gives him the only possession he has in the whole world – a shiny white bone, so that Jack doesn’t feel so alone anymore.
“It’s a poignant message and I’m hoping it will resonate with cinemagoers, where it is being shown during trailers throughout December, and help raise much-needed funds for Shelter Scotland.”
Sharryn McKelvie, Shelter Scotland Senior Community Fundraising Area Manager said: “This is a fantastic initiative by Angela at a time of year that can be full of despair for those without a home.
“We hope that those lucky enough to enjoy quality time in the warmth of a cinema will think about others less fortunate and donate what they can to help make sure no one has to fight the threat of homelessness alone.
“Shelter Scotland exists to defend the right to a safe home and fight the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and society. Shelter Scotland believes that home is everything.
“As of 31 March 2023, there were 15,039 households in temporary accommodation, 9,595 of them children, the highest number recorded. Between April 2022 and March 2023, another 32,242 households became homeless – the equivalent of a household losing their home every 16 minutes.”
Angela, from the East End of Glasgow, who is best known for her Thumble Tumble series of stories for children, was determined to support art in Scotland by ensuring that all those involved in creating the film came from small, aspiring Scottish companies. She worked with Glasgow-based independent animation studio Clubhouse Animations and StrangeWorx Productions.
Arthur’s Christmas Tale is being shown in independent cinemas from Inverness to Dumfries throughout this month. Visitors will be able to donate via the Shelter Scotland Giving Page or by donating cash to collection buckets at cinemas across Scotland.
Carol from Shelter Scotland advises Families and Pregnant Women around any housing issues but mainly damp and mould, and overcrowding.
She will be here at PCHP on the first and third Fridays of November and December from 10am until 12pm. Come along to meet her if these issues are affecting you!
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. “
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 10th 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.”
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.”:
A Public Meeting will take place next Monday (17th July) in Muirhouse Millennium Centre to address mould/dampness problems in council and housing association properties in the area.
Guidance setting out private rented sector landlords’ responsibilities for ensuring their property meets updated standards has been published.
From 1 March next year, all private rented properties will be required to have central heating, a kitchen with adequate space and facilities to prepare and store food, and common areas that are safe to use and properly maintained.
Properties will also need a circuit breaker device that reduces the risk of electrocution and fire. Existing requirements for safe gas and electrical systems will be extended to other types of fuel. Similar standards are already in place in the social rented sector.
The guidance also covers the action landlords must already take to prevent damp and mould.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “Landlords have one year to meet our updated Repairing Standard, which will improve the condition of private rented property, make homes safer and ensure consistency between the social and private rented sectors.
“The majority of private landlords will already be meeting these standards. The guidance published today will help landlords better understand their responsibilities and ensure those who do need to carry out works can do so in advance of the 1 March 2024 deadline.
“All rented homes are required to meet standards that ensure they are free from damp and mould, and this guidance will help us to ensure this happens in the private rented sector.”
