Call for spare rooms to provide sanctuary for young people in Glasgow

Young people in Glasgow facing the prospect of sleeping rough on the streets are to be provided an emergency bed for the night – in a volunteer’s home rather than in a homelessness hostel.

The homeless charity, Simon Community Scotland – which is marking its 50th anniversary – has received funding from the Big Lottery Fund to set up a network of beds in people’s spare rooms, throughout Glasgow.

The homelessness charity say a young person will be able to stay in their own private room, with a welcoming volunteer host, for up to three nights.

The hope is that, during that time, Simon Community Scotland staff can then assist the young person to find a more long-term solution to what has taken them to the brink of homelessness.

Funding for the ‘nightstop’ service is also being provided by the Rangers Charity Foundation.

Last year, it was announced that Simon Community Scotland would be one of seven charities to be supported by the Rangers Charity Foundation.

In November, the foundation is staging a series of ‘sleep outs’ at Rangers’ football ground, Ibrox, to raise funds, while the Big Lottery Fund is providing £150,000 towards making the nightstop service a reality.

Nightstop Glasgow is due to start operating from December.

Simon Community Scotland anticipates the service will, over its first three years, prevent 120 young people from sleeping rough or spending the night in an adult shelter.

Says Hugh Hill, director of Services at Simon Community Scotland: “The decision to sleep rough is a huge one; however, once someone has slept rough once, the decision to sleep rough again is a much easier one. So, it’s vital to stop rough sleeping before it has begun.

“The reasons why young people end up homeless are varied. Most commonly, it’s a breakdown in the relationship at home and sometimes a cooling-off period allows staff to support the family to reconnect and talk through their issues.

“Sometimes, the young person is escaping violence or abuse. Or is facing issues concerning their sexuality.”

The call is being made for the people of Glasgow to join the nightstop network, by offering up any spare rooms they have in their homes and becoming a nightstop host.

Before a host can provide a room, a full training, support and vetting exercise is undertaken by Simon Community Scotland staff.

Hill added: “The nightstop concept has been hugely successful in other parts of the country and we’re excited about the opportunity to deliver a safe, compassionate and homely alternative to potentially risky options elsewhere.”

The charity, Depaul UK, already leads a national nightstop network, with 33 services around the UK – from Edinburgh to Devon – working in partnership with local organisations to deliver it.

Said Nicola Harwood, head of Depaul Nightstop: “Last year, we provided 13,500 bed nights, increasing young people’s safety and making them less likely to sleep rough or become trapped in the cycle of homelessness.

“We are absolutely delighted to launch ‘Nightstop’ in Glasgow, and to be working in partnership with Simon Community Scotland to deliver this important service. Nightstop is a vital service for many young people who have nowhere to turn to, and it’s fantastic to see it being launched in the city this year.”

Added Lorraine McGrath, chief executive of Simon Community Scotland: “The support from the Big Lottery Fund and the Rangers Charity Foundation to develop a nightstop service is Glasgow is truly fantastic.

“Rough sleeping is unhealthy, unsafe and risky and we want to prevent young people who are already in distress and vulnerable being put at even more risk from homelessness.”

Lottery Fund Scotland chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “I am delighted that Simon Community Scotland has been successful in securing a Big Lottery Fund grant.

“This is an innovative project which will make a huge difference to the lives of young homeless people. It is great to see Lottery money being used not only to secure emergency accommodation for these young people but also to help them reconnect with their community through ongoing long term support.”

Said Connal Cochrane, director of the Rangers Charity Foundation: “This is a great new initiative which targets a very vulnerable group and we are delighted to offer our support.

“Glasgow has the highest concentration of young people who are homeless in Scotland and an average of 15 young people sleep rough every month in the city.

“We hope our Big Ibrox Sleeps Outs, which were hugely successful last year and raised £70,000, will help to make these shocking statistics a thing of the past.”

More generally, Simon Community Scotland – which is hoping its 50th anniversary will result in a surge in volunteer numbers, including from former service users – delivers around 170,000 hours of support every year and engages with up to 3,000 people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.

In particular, it seeks to reach rough sleepers in Glasgow, and its Street Team sees around 150 people on the streets every month, with up to 40 new cases each month. Simon Community Scotland has 200 staff.

Prospective Nightstop Glasgow volunteers, with spare rooms, should contact Pauline Hannigan on 0141 418 6980.