Scotland’s Only Large Scale Hostel For Homeless Women Set For Closure

Glasgow City Council’s Executive Committee has voted to wind down Inglefield Hostel as part of an overhaul of homelessness services for women. Inglefield Hostel in Govanhill was built at the beginning of the last century and can house up to seventy-two women at a time.

Many of the women who stay there have faced domestic, physical and sexual abuse and the hostel is now not regarded as a suitable environment in which to address these and other issues. The closure of Inglefield is a longer term aim but in the first instance a women-only staff group will now be employed within the hostel and the Council’s other services and centres for women.

It is a model that has been widely consulted on with Inglefield residents having a significant input. The reshaping of services will also see the creation of two reception and assessment centres for women, including one specifically for young women aged 16 – 21. A range of smaller-scale resettlement accommodation will also be developed for those women with complex needs, allowing for them to receive the long term support they require.

The reception and assessment centres are likely to house up to twenty-five women in self-contained flatlets which will have cooking, toilet and shower facilities. This is in contrast to the current accommodation at Inglefield which comprises of eight foot by ten foot rooms with shared toilets and showers and a canteen.

Detailed costs of these reception centres have not yet been drawn up but a homelessness project planned for Fordneuk Street will provide similar accommodation for forty men and has a budget of £4.2million. These new reception centres would allow for a careful assessment of an individual’s needs before they are allocated appropriate move on accommodation and support.

One of the criticisms of Inglefield Hostel is that the scale and range of complex needs of the residents means that is harder to work with individuals on their own issues. A study showed that of those who had stayed in the hostel 61% were known to have experienced gender based violence, either domestic abuse (47% of cases), sexual abuse in childhood (7%), rape or sexual assault (16%) or involvement in prostitution (20%). Addiction issues were also highly prevalent with 73% reporting issues with drugs or alcohol.

Councillor Elaine McDougall, the Executive Member for Social Work, said: “We must move on from what is an outdated form of accommodation for homeless women in the city. Our own research shows that the vast majority of residents find staying at Inglefield Hostel a negative experience.

“It is too big and does not lend itself to the kind of supports that are needed to address the wide range of issues faced by these women. If support is given by the Council for this proposal we will be able develop the funding package we need to transform homelessness services for women. Homeless women deserve a service that is fit for the 21st century.”

As yet there is no timetable in place for the closure of Inglefield Hostel. This will depend on the funding being put in place. However, as a first step it is anticipated that fully gender sensitive services will be up and running within Inglefied Hostel and the Elder Street Project by the end of this financial year.

Core and cluster resettlement accommodation would then be developed ahead of Inglefield’s closure through work with local housing associations. The core and cluster model would allow for women and children to be accommodated together, something which is not possible within current services.

Glasgow has closed two male hostels in the past three years and last remaining male hostel in Bell Street is due to close this year. As with the proposal for women’s services, a range of core and cluster accommodation has been provided to allow for better support as the men look to re-enter mainstream housing.