Milestone for rough sleeping scheme
A SCHEME to tackle rough sleeping has hit a milestone as Wheatley Group handed over its 100th home to Scotland’s Housing First partnership.
Wheatley pledged up to 200 homes to the partnership in December 2018, following the Sleep in the Park fundraiser organised by Social Bite.
The organisation also gives all new Housing First tenants a starter pack that can include food, recycled furniture and bedding.
One of the people who has been housed through Housing First is William Smith, who is now a GHA tenant.
He moved into his home at Christmas, and has already secured a training opportunity with Wheatley Group through the Wheatley Foundation’s Changing Lives Environmental Training Scheme, and is on a programme to overcome his drug addiction.
He said: “Since moving in here I have come on leaps and bounds. It feels a lot better to have a home.”
Housing First Scotland is a partnership set up to tackle rough sleeping. It gives secure mainstream tenancies to people who are currently sleeping rough or living in hostels and other temporary accommodation and is aimed at people with complex needs such as mental health or addiction issues.
The model helps people into permanent accommodation as quickly as possible, providing them with the support they need to sustain their tenancy and rebuild their lives.
In Glasgow, Wheatley is working with Glasgow’s Health & Social Care Partnership, the Salvation Army and Social Bite and the Glasgow Housing First Consortium.
The Merchants House of Glasgow committed £200,000 to fund employability projects for tenants and Lord Dean of Guild, Alasdair Ronald said “The level of homelessness and rough sleeping is a personal tragedy for those who are homeless and a source of shame for us all.”