Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement


New services aim to help tackle city homelessness

Premium Article !

Your account has been frozen. For your available options click the below button.

Options

Premium Article !

To read this article in full you must have registered and have a Premium Content Subscription with the Edinburgh Evening News site.

Subscribe

Registered Article !

To read this article in full you must be registered with the site.

Sign In
Register
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 29 April 2009
NEW services to tackle homelessness have been introduced in the Capital.
Edinburgh City Council has teamed up with a range of charities and organisations to provide new advice and support services to prevent people becoming homeless in the city.

Councillor Norman Work, chair of the Edinburgh Homelessness Forum, said: "
Prevention is better than cure in many instances.

"We are providing more services that will help people stay in their homes in the long-run.

"Crisis services will still be in place but we are focusing on getting to the root of the problem."

The service revamp, which came into action on Monday, includes a crisis service for people who are at risk of sleeping rough as well as neighbourhood advice services to help prevent homelessness.

Kate Poulson of Streetwork has welcomed the new approach. She said: "Working with the council allows us to reach the most vulnerable people across the city. We're very supportive of the new strategy."

The city's housing leader, Councillor Paul Edie, said: "We have put a lot of work into making sure that we are providing the best possible services for those who come to us for help. I am encouraged by the good work so far"





The full article contains 209 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 29 April 2009 11:00 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Homelessness
 
1

alfonsa pedrosa,

embra 29/04/2009 12:58:10
Why not build a homeless facility on the Bass Rock,wee are sailing.
2

elayne,

29/04/2009 13:05:33
the roots of homelessness can be many things,i think a few of those who are homeless would be better in some kind of specialist long term care due to mental health problems,alcoholism,drugs etc its all very well chucking houses at people(often in awful areas)when a few dont have the coping mechanisms to deal with having their own home and often end up losing their home because of lack of life skills,so the whole cycle is repeated,costing more money to services etc
3

Pritt Stick Boy,

29/04/2009 14:46:36
2 "all very well chucking houses at people"??

I don't think so! You could have someones eye out with that carry on!!
4

Mark Renton,

Edinburgh 29/04/2009 16:38:57
They should start by kicking the beggars off George Street and Rose Street.
5

Laura Phillips,

Moredun High Rise 29/04/2009 20:29:43
I would like to praise the council for help they gave me 5yrs ago, i got brilliant help from them, but think that drug addicts and alcholics should not be given houses as theyre a nightmare to have as neighbours they sleep thru day and up at night when were trying to sleep for work to pay our taxes for there benefits, theyre a danger to us by robbing us or setting fire to there house, you should keep them in supported hostels if they cant get off there drugs or drink.
6

elayne,

29/04/2009 20:55:30
#5 your right there!,your lucky you got help from them!i agree,drug addicts and alcoholics shouldnt be housed,they should be cared for in hostels as you say,with trained staff,they tend to bring areas down and are not good neighbours,however friendly they may seem,people such as you,who work hard deserve to live in peace and quiet,people who become homless through issues like break ups,those who lose home because of current economic climate should be given priority over addicts!more people should speak up about this(most are too afraid as its not PC!)
7

support worker G,

Edinburgh 02/05/2009 21:04:24
The avowed aim of the People in Crisis new service provider is to offer a 24 hour service for vulnerable people in need. They have unfortunately had a bit of a sticky start in their first week, when the afternoon drop-in service which offers people food, warmth, advice and shelter was canceled today due to a staffing error on the part of the new Management. The staff who had arrived to work this shift had to apologise to Service Users expecting to gain access and especially to those who had been advised to return after spending the night at the shelter in order to continue with the work of addressing their issues. It is believed that this is only the 2nd time in the history of the building as a drop-in that this has occurred (including Christmas and Hogmanay, when it has been staffed both day and night). If I were a teacher writing a report, I would be using the phrase "must try harder!". Still, at least Councillor Edie remains encouraged.

Also, while I agree that services have been revamped,the reporter seems to imply through his use of language that the existence of a crisis centre is new. This is not the case as many support workers who have worked in the old Cowgate Centre for years can verify.

 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
RSS Feed of this article's comments
Delivery formats: RSS, Atom, Javascript & Email
 
  

 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.