A golden chance for real change
SCOTLAND proved it can take drastic steps to tackle homelessness when it really matters.
But there is a question mark hanging over any sort of long-term solution.
Hotel accommodation was found to make sure no one had to sleep on the streets in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
It was seen as a step forward but it raised questions about the grim reality that anyone was on the streets at all.
Campaigners want cash, and lots of it, to make sure everyone still has a roof over their heads when the June 28 deadline expires. The housing minister, who takes it seriously, has to take stay ahead of this.
It would be a shocking failure of policy and government if people are simply thrown back out again.
And it would only remind us that Scotland has a long way to go to tackle this stubborn, vicious, social problem.
We already need better housing and an end to unacceptable temporary accommodation or reliance on poor B&Bs.
The scandal of rough sleeping was thrown into sharp relief when Covid-19 swept across the country. It should not have taken a global pandemic to push authorities into action.
We must make sure no one ends up in a worse place when the coronavirus crisis finally eases off.
BY SaRah VESTY A SCOTS joiner who was paralysed by Covid-19 has beaten the odds to walk out of intensive care after battling the killer virus for 68 days.
Bob Morning, from Dundee, was first admitted to Ninewells Hospital on April 4 – but after his condition rapidly deteriorated, he was rushed into ICU.
Medics battled around the clock to keep the 65-year-old alive but soon discovered that he was unable to move due to the virus.
Bob bravely fought back and stunned hospital staff by taking a few steps as he left the unit after more than two months.
The tradesman, affectionately known as “Bob the Joiner” to staff, was then transferred into a wheelchair and wheeled down the corridor towards Ward 3.
A heartwarming video, released by NHS Tayside, showed medics performing a guard of honour as Bob smiled, waved and gave a thumbs-up.
Hospital staff have hailed him as a true “inspiration” while wife Joyce cannot wait to have her loving hubby home.