Today we’ve joined with nearly twenty fellow charities to present a joint plan to the Scottish Government based on three key asks that experts and academics believe could permanently end rough sleeping and destitution in Scotland.
The Collective, named Everyone Home, includes many household names working to end homelessness in all parts of the country.
Together, we have agreed a ‘triple-lock’ of measures to protect the progress that has been made and underpin next steps.
Patrick McKay, Chair of Homeless Network Scotland and Operations Director, Turning Point Scotland said:
“The majority of people and organisations in Scotland that care about homelessness agree that the Scottish Government’s Ending Homelessness Together Plan is the right approach, and we were making progress. However, the onset of this pandemic demanded a rapid response to keep people safe. Since March we have managed to accommodate and support all those who wanted to be indoors, including people with no recourse to public funds such as people seeking asylum in Scotland.
“It is now imperative to secure that progress. The pandemic will have a disproportionate impact on people who experience all types of disadvantage, potentially driving up homelessness. By implementing the measures outlined in this plan, Scotland has a unique window to end rough sleeping and mitigate the impact of all forms of homelessness.”
Sabir Zazai, Chief Executive of Scottish Refugee Council said:
“Immigration status should have no impact on the right to have somewhere safe and secure to sleep at night. We all need a home, now more than ever as the pandemic has shown. We’re pleased to work alongside our colleagues in the charity sector to make sure people from the asylum and refugee communities are included in all plans to end homelessness, including people living with the appalling no recourse to public funds (NRPF) restrictions on their right to seek homelessness support.”
The 19 organisations involved in the Collective have agreed priorities and set out a range of approaches they would like to see applied to homelessness.
These are:
- prioritise prevention, create as much housing capacity as we can now and make a longterm commitment to increase the supply of homes for social rent
- permanently prevent a return to previous levels of rough sleeping in all areas
- no evictions into homelessness, the end of avoidable evictions and the threat of illegal evictions.
The plan will be submitted to the Scottish Government today and the 19 organisations that are members of the Collective will continue to develop and refine plans for ensuring an effective response to the Covid-19 pandemic as restrictions are lifted.
The 19 members of Everyone Home: Scottish Collective on Covid 19, are:
Aberdeen Cyrenians
Bethany Christian Trust
Crisis Scotland
Cyrenians
CCPS Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland
Four Square
Aspire (representing the Glasgow Alliance to End Homelessness)
Glasgow City Mission
Heriot-Watt University (I-SPHERE)
Glasgow Night Shelter for Destitute Asylum Seekers
Rock Trust
Homeless Network Scotland
Scottish Refugee Council
Simon Community Scotland
Shelter Scotland
Street Soccer Scotland
Social Bite
Turning Point Scotland
Ypeople
