Enterprise to get 600 homeless off streets

A project to take 600 people out of homelessness by offering them a secure home is being launched by a social enterprise.

Social Bite said the programme is being largely funded by £3 million of the money raised from December’s Sleep inthepark,when8,000people took part in “the world’s biggest sleepout” in freezing conditions in Edinburgh.

The 600 Homes campaign follows a “Housing First” model, which involves aims to give people a secure home and a support structure to help them sustain their tenancy and re-integrate into society.

Social Bite will invest £1.5m into funding the support costs over the first 12 months.

The charity then plans to invest a further £1.5m over the following 12 months, alongside other funders.

Josh Littlejohn, cofounder of Social Bite, said: “Our plan is to start placing people that are currently sleeping rough and in hostels or other temporary accommodation into this mainstream housing this spring.”

Five hundred properties have been offered in Edinburgh by the city council and a range of housing associations, as well as in Glasgow and the Central Belt from the Wheatley Group.

Dundee City Council has pledged 100 homes over the 18 months of the programme.

The first homes will become available this spring, with roughly 33 properties a month being released.