McAliskey Time we bulldozed Stormont
area. These days, it’s located in Midland Street, next to Arches nightclub.
The charity are operated by the Legion of Mary, a Catholic organisation, but their helpers also come from “other religions and none”.
Jim said: “We’re open every evening of the year and get 60 to 80 people a night and maybe another 20 who come to the door.
“We rely completely on don a t ion s a nd get sandwiches from Pret and cakes from Lightbody’s and donations from the public.
“People often come for a bit of company. You can get a shower and we have emergency clothing.
“We even throw in a free game of bingo most evenings.
“Volunteers listen, give advice and try to help a person progress to a more helpful future.
“The homeless situation has always been with us although Glasgow has a very good reputation as a caring city. It’s not something which is going to go away completely.
“There are mental and physical health issues and problems with addiction. To find a solution for each and every person is extremely difficult.”
Graham, 33, originally from Dundee, was at the Wayside on Thursday.
He said: “If it wasn’t for this place, people like me would struggle for something to eat.
“I’ve been in Glasgow for a while now but have had problems getting a place in hostels as I’m not local.
“I need a sleeping bag for tonight, so people here have been helping me with that.” In response to Jim’s call for smaller housing units, a Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “We’re providing the type of accommodation referred to since phasing out large- scale hostel accommodation more than 10 years ago. Our emergency and supported accommodation model offers this type of support because it is proven to lead to more positive outcomes for people.
“We also provide personalised housing support to people in temporary and permanent accommodation.
“There ha s been signi f icant investment in this across the city and we are also looking to f ind more permanent housing for people.”
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “One person being made homeless is too many and tackling and preventing homelessness is a key priority for the Scottish Government.
“We set up the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group to bring forward recommendations on how to tackle the issue and transform the use of temporary accommodation.
“We also announced £ 21million investment to support local authorities in transforming the system, offering rapid routes to settled housing and to support people at times of crisis.”
Former civil rights leader Bernadette McAliskey has called for Northern Ireland’s suspended parliament to be “bulldozed”.
She criticised what she said were inadequate political efforts at Stormont to enshrine human rights and said people were benefiting from racism.
McAliskey became the youngest MP in Mid-Ulster in 1969 and has devoted much of her life to fighting exclusion and helping minorities in County Tyrone.
She addressed a conference marking the first civil rights march 50 years ago from the county’s Coalisland to Dungannon.
She said: “We are on a hiding to nothing changing racism and sectarianism.
“I run out of patience with that house on the hill. We deserve better and we should bulldoze the place.”
Stormont has been suspended for months in a row between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists over issues including the Irish language.
In the 60s, McAliskey was a leading figure in the student civi l r ights movement , which drew inspiration from similar action in the US.
McAliskey said racism and sectarianism were like rapidly spreading ragweed.
She added: “We are the victims of sectarianism, the whole community, and we are the beneficiaries of racism.
“We have to change how we view the past, not simply how we view the present or the future or we don’t understand the need to fundamentally change.”