Credit: Shelter Scotland
News Editor
The report shows the demand for Shelter’s services and advice in Glasgow
Shelter Scotland’s Glasgow Community Hub Impact report shows high demand for help with poor housing and homelessness in Glasgow.
The report reveals that 3,080 people contacted the charity for help last year. Out of these people, 24% were already homeless or facing immediate homelessness, while 27% were families with children.
Gillian Reid, Shelter Scotland’s National Services Manager, stated: “Demand for our services in the Glasgow area is very high and our teams are stretched to the limit in providing advice to help people find and keep a home.
“An acute shortage of truly affordable homes, harsh welfare reforms, stagnant wages and the high cost of keeping a roof over their head are the main reasons driving people to ask for help.
“We are particularly concerned about the practice of ‘gatekeeping’ – where people are prevented from making a homeless application. There is also an acute shortage of decent quality temporary accommodation – one of the consequences was that Glasgow City Council broke the law more than 3,000 times last year by not providing people with accommodation when it was their right.
“We are also extremely concerned about the continued use of B&B to accommodate homeless people – especially where the quality of it is often very poor and the cost extortionate.”
It was also recently announced by Shelter Scotland that 21,290 people received help last year from its services. This is more than Shelter Scotland has ever previously recorded, leading them to declare a national housing crisis.
