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8 October, 2020 Open access

Scottish Government launches updated plan for tackling homelessness, including the replacement of night shelters with ‘rapid rehousing welcome centres’

New centres form part of plan to phase out night shelters entirely by expanding rapid rehousing approaches such as Housing First

The Scottish Government has launched an updated Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan that includes the steps it intends to take to end the use of night shelters.

NB - the Action Plan was first published in November 2018 following input and recommendations from the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Action Group, and was last updated by the Group in June 2020 after it was reconvened to provide guidance on how to end homelessness in the light of COVID-19.

Amongst a range of measures outlined in the new updated plan, the Scottish Government says that it wants to modify night shelter provision this winter, and end night shelter use along with dormitory-style provision in future -

‘Night shelters will be replaced with rapid rehousing welcome centres for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough this winter …

The centres will provide emergency accommodation for people who have no other options, encouraging them to move on to other services. People using the centres will be offered targeted support, including for wellbeing, health and social care issues, legal rights, employment and welfare.’

The government says that the new centres will form part of its greater use of rapid rehousing approaches, such as Housing First, to provide settled accommodation as quickly as possible.

NB - the updated action plan also provides details of changes of approach in relation to -

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart, who co-chairs the Homelessness Prevention and Strategy Group, said today -

'Our vision is of a Scotland with no need for night shelters – where everyone has a home that meets their needs.

Since our plan for tackling homelessness was first published in 2018 we have delivered on many of the urgent issues facing homeless people. The Scottish Government’s swift response to coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a dramatic reduction in the numbers of people sleeping rough and we must not let the problem return.

This updated action plan renews our commitment to ending homelessness and rough sleeping once and for all, particularly by expanding services such as Housing First that provide longer-term accommodation and give homeless people the time and space to establish new lives for themselves.

We are also placing even greater emphasis on preventing homelessness in the first place, and our new rapid rehousing welcome centres and are a first step to ending the use of night shelters altogether.'

For more information, see Night shelters to be phased out from gov.scot