Glasgow City Council has committed to the principle that there should be no ‘shared air’ communal night shelters in the city after hearing hard-hitting testimony of the damaging impact they had on people who were homeless last winter.
The pledge by councillors and officials came at a summit held by Glasgow Homelessness Involvement and Feedback Team (GHIFT) to share findings from their recent investigation into people’s experiences of using shared air night shelters in Glasgow.
GHIFT, a team with first-hand experience of homelessness who work to improve services in Glasgow, invited councillors, officials and MSPs to hear their evidence and inform decisions that will help keep people safe this winter and in the longer term.
The event heard real stories of people who felt unsafe, disrespected and traumatised during the worst crisis of their lives – with some people opting to sleep rough, sofa surf or take other risks rather than use a communal night shelter.
GHIFT also shared examples of good practice and what people want to see from better overnight provision, with safety, privacy and direct links to services among the priorities.
Why did GHIFT do this work?
The team carried out the survey earlier this year to assess the impact on people of changes to overnight winter services in Glasgow for people experiencing homelessness.
Being roofless in winter and during other extreme weather events is particularly brutal due to the intensified physical and psychological toll on people.
Freezing temperatures, snow and ice increase the risk of severe harm. And throughout the year, exposure to high winds, heavy rain or heatwaves also makes people’s situation more precarious. Glasgow has the highest level of rough sleeping in Scotland, followed by Edinburgh, Fife and Highland.
In previous years, a welcome centre provided in partnership between the council and local charities ensured access to individual rooms, meals, multi-agency support and rapid access to self-contained rooms and community accommodation.
But the housing emergency, rapidly rising homelessness, shortages of all forms of accommodation and overwhelming pressure on homelessness budgets and services hampered all efforts to provide a welcome centre last winter.
The team asked city decision makers at the event to resolve this situation as a matter of urgency for the winter ahead and to join them in committing to the principle that shared air shelters are inadequate, compromise dignity and reinforce stigma.
GHIFT members spoke at the event about their experiences of carrying out the survey, including specific concerns women raised about safety, and moving examples of the compassionate and equality-led support they found in other services.
Extreme weather provision during a housing emergency
An accompanying briefing on housing provision in extreme weather makes it clear that doing nothing to improve the situation this year is not an option, with the return of a triage-focused welcome centre the best option in the time available before this winter arrives. The briefing also shows that GHIFT’s findings align with an international evidence review on what works to end rough sleeping, including the effectiveness of shelters.
GHIFT welcomed a shared commitment at the event to work together to do better for people this winter, along with a pledge to preserve people’s existing housing rights, with acknowledgment of the present struggle the city has in meeting these duties.
Glasgow declared a housing emergency in November 2023 and around 30 people are now estimated to sleep rough in the city each night due to a lack of social and affordable housing.
The council is paying millions of pounds to house more than 1,800 people in 40 unsuitable hotels and B&Bs and failed to offer any temporary accommodation 6,320 times between April and September 2024.
Susanne Millar, chief executive, Glasgow City Council, said: “GHIFT were frank about the bad situations they uncovered in their work, and we were frank about the challenges we face and the resources we need to improve the response to homelessness in the city.
“We welcome that honest discussion. Glasgow has long been committed to eradicating use of old-style communal shelters. Over decades we have worked hard to close down unsafe places like the Bellgrove Hotel and create a modernised homelessness system.
“Everyone around the table wanted the same thing, to provide the best service possible to support people in crisis in Glasgow. The evidence GHIFT has gathered will help to inform how the city can move forward to get to that place as quickly as possible.”
GHIFT said: “One of our priorities is housing, not shelters, as a response to rough sleeping in Glasgow. With winter round the corner, we wanted to gather people’s experiences of using shared air shelters and open a conversation with councillors and officers to make sure that this winter, everyone could commit to a safe solution.
“Our investigation shows that people will choose options that feel safe to them, and that shared air shelters are not a safe place to stay. If no alternative can be provided, people are at risk of sleeping rough because what’s currently available just isn’t good enough.
“We want to feel proud of our city, and to know that Glasgow is providing places for people to sleep safe, not rough, would be a step in the right direction.
“We are really pleased with the conversations with the councillors and officials and we’re ready to collaborate with all partners to make sure the voices of people with personal experience of homelessness in Glasgow are kept at the forefront of decisions on winter planning.”
Homeless Network Scotland, who supported the event, said: “Rough s leeping is the last resort for people who have run out of places to turn to, or for people who are unable to stay where they are but don’t know where to go.
“An ideal housing system would rapidly rehouse and support people year-round, without the need for weather-specific measures. But Glasgow, like many other parts of Scotland, currently lacks the houses and funding it needs to make this a reality.
“GHIFT’s guests at the event heard the sobering truth that for some people, having no safe place to go at night in winter is literally a life-or-death situation.
“So we are clear, as are GHIFT: doing nothing is not an option. And the actions we take during the housing emergency are just as important to avoid straying further from the ideal we all aspire to. Without winter provision that prioritises safety, dignity and what works, we risk rising rough sleeping and deepening harm. “If anyone is in doubt about the danger that causes, we recommend reading GHIFT’s report and considering the wider range of evidence that is available to help decision making.”