Cllr Ann Le Blonde

Becoming a councillor for me, was due to the fact that I had worked for Glasgow City Council.

I had been involved in a number of projects as a surveyor, but in the latter part of my job I became involved with social work and building homeless units.

It was something that I found gratifying but also frustrating – as quickly as we built properties, we needed more - a sombre fact in the world we live in currently.

Homelessness shames our society. Anybody who lives in Glasgow and walks through the streets will know that rough sleeping is a serious problem.

It’s unthinkable that anyone could be left without a safe place to sleep at night, but it is a reality.

I worked with many different charities; some worked with vulnerable women, older men with substance problems, young children who had been through the system all of their lives, offenders and those with mental health problems.

There was not a one size fits all solution to this issue.

I enjoyed working with all the charities and the people involved. It was a tough job but also something that made me feel that I was able to make a difference.

And this is why, when I moved onto a new job, I knew that I wanted to become a councillor and try and use the little knowledge that I had to try and make an impact.

It is not politicians, whether in Westminster, Holyrood or local councils, who understand best how to offer support to people in challenging situations.

We need to build policy and practice around those who know what it is actually like on the ground. This means those who have lived the experience, sleeping rough, couch surfing and homeless shelters and speaking to those who work for charities and voluntary organisations and know how to help those at risk – these are the people that we need to work with to help build a better system.

Promoting those who have needed help into helping others.

Frustratingly in councils, it is often those who have worked their way through numerous invisible jobs to the dizzy heights, who then decide to spend money on unnecessary bells and trinkets. We need to provide beds and whilst it’s important to make these homely and inviting, ultimately having a bed for a night is more important than colour charts.

Whilst I cannot be that person that can admit to ever finding myself in dire straits or without a bed for the night, I learned a lot about how I could do my job better from speaking to those on the ground and I would hope that all councils start to take the approach of asking those who have experience.