Homelessness

Important Information

During office hours you can phone Health and Social Care Connect on:

• phone 0141 287 0555

Outwith office hours (after 4:45pm Monday to Thursday or 3:55pm on a Friday and at weekends):

• emergency social care service: 0300 343 1505
• emergency homelessness services: 0800 838 502

Do you need support to contact us? You can get help as follows:

• If English is not your first language then please let us know which language you speak and we'll arrange for an interpreter to contact you.
• If BSL is your first language then you can contact us using the Contact Scotland app. 

Or you can also visit a local office where a member of staff will help arrange the support you need to contact us.

Keeping you safe - all adults and children have the right to be safe from harm. If you are worried about yourself, or someone else, being at risk of harm / abuse, including neglect, then it is important to tell someone. If they are in immediate danger, phone 999. If they are not in immediate danger, you can contact report your concerns to Health and Social Care Connect on 0141 287 0555 or, for adults, complete an online adult support and protection referral.

If you need an asylum service then please use the address / phone number below:

Asylum and Refugee Team 
44 South Portland Street Glasgow
G5 9JJ
Phone: 0141 222 7352

What does it mean?

The law states that you are homeless if you:

• have no accommodation at all
• have somewhere to stay but you cannot gain entry to it (for example, your landlord has changed the locks)
• have somewhere to stay but it is probable that continued occupation of that accommodation will lead to abuse (for example, by neighbours, a former partner or family member)
• have somewhere to stay but it is not reasonable to stay there because of overcrowding and this overcrowding is bad for your health
• have somewhere to stay but its poor standard means it is not reasonable for you to stay there
• have somewhere to stay but you do not have permission to stay there
• are living in either B&B accommodation, a hotel, hostel or refuge
• have been staying with family or friends but they have asked you to leave
• usually live in a mobile home (for example, a caravan or boat) but there is nowhere for you to put it.

You are threatened with homelessness if you are likely to become homeless within two months.

How do I get help if I am homeless?

We have a legal duty to help people who are homeless or are threatened with homelessness. We might not accommodate if it is immediately clear we have no duty and issue a 'not eligible' or 'not homeless' decision

You can apply online to:

► Request Homelessness Support for Yourself

► Request Homelessness Support for Someone Else

During office hours you can phone Health and Social Care Connect on:

• phone 0141 287 0555

Outwith office hours (after 4:45pm Monday to Thursday or 3:55pm on a Friday and at weekends):

• emergency social care service: 0300 343 1505
• emergency homelessness services: 0800 838 502

Do you need support to contact us? You can get help as follows:

• If English is not your first language then please let us know which language you speak and we'll arrange for an interpreter to contact you.
• If BSL is your first language then you can contact us using the Contact Scotland app. 

Or you can also visit a local office where a member of staff will help arrange the support you need to contact us.

As a minimum, the council will arrange for you to receive:

• Advice and Information
• Temporary Accommodation while your application is being considered.

We will carry out an assessment to check if you:

• are homeless or threatened with homelessness
• made yourself homeless intentionally
• have a local connection with Glasgow or another local authority (though no referral for local connection will be made to another Scottish Local Authority).

Depending on your homelessness assessment, you may also be entitled to a referral for permanent accommodation. This could be with a housing association or cooperative, or a private tenancy with a private landlord.

What is Housing First?

Housing First is a simple but radically different approach to tackling long term homelessness with complex cases and forms and a key element of GCHSCP's Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. It enables people who are affected by long term life trauma's who are affected by addiction, mental health and other issues and who are homeless, to be rapidly rehoused in independent tenancies in the community, with no requirement to go through the traditional housing programme. A bespoke, outreach support package is available to help those in the programme and includes:

• helping the person adjust and settle into their home and their community
• assisting and enabling day to day tasks
• help with money management
• help with appointments and linking with the recovery network and other community activities. 

This support helps ensure the person is in a better position to:

• sustain a permanent tenancy
• access community support, health care and social benefits.

The person is not required to be abstinent - instead, the Housing First programme focuses on a harm reduction approach.

Following the city Pathfinder programme, from 1 April 2022 the Housing First Service is an integral GCHSCP Service with a dedicated team who manage referrals, undertake assessment and work with Housing Associations across the city who provide tenancies. The team also provides the necessary links to care and treatment services for the person referred.

The Housing First Consortium Glasgow (a joint partnership between Turning Point Scotland, Simon Community Scotland, Salvation Army and Loretto Care) and Salvation Army Housing First services provide assertive outreach, one to one support for the people referred and moving into tenancy and is provided for as long as the person requires it.

Who is Housing First for?

The Housing First Service is for:

• homeless people with multiple complex needs who have been involved in Rapid Rehousing but were not able to see it through to the end
• single people / couples with a significant history of two or more of the following (not exhaustive) indicators of multiple complex needs:
  • addiction
  • involvement in criminal justice system
  • anti-social behaviour
  • violence
  • mental health
  • rough Sleeping (current/ in the past)
  • begging
  • veteran
  • history of incomplete engagement with services
  • alcohol related brain damage
  • lengthy history of involvement with services

How do I apply for Housing First?

To apply for Housing First you will require a  referral form [48kb].

Services and organisations can refer someone, who meets the criteria listed above, who is attending their service / organisation. 

You can self refer by contacting any homeless casework team or via Health and Social Care Direct who can help guide you through Homeless Services.  During office hours you can phone Health and Social Care Connect on:

• phone 0141 287 0555

What happens to my belongings when I'm homeless?

We have a legal duty to protect your property if you are awaiting a homelessness assessment or have been assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness. This duty includes the storage of belongings that you are temporarily unable to look after. For example, this may be because there is insufficient space within your temporary accommodation to store your furniture.

The council:

• may arrange storage space and / or accommodation for any pet
• may provide this service even if it no longer has a duty to accommodate you
• may make a reasonable charge for this service.

Do I need to pay for any temporary accommodation you provide?

Housing Benefit may cover some of the costs of temporary accommodation. The amount of Housing Benefit you receive will depend on your personal circumstances, savings and income. We will make every effort to ensure the accommodation found for you is affordable.

Costs which are not covered by Housing Benefit include charges for:

• meals
• heating
• lighting
• hot water

Health Services if you are homeless

If you are homeless or staying in temporary accommodation you can use the specialist Homelessness Health Services based at Hunter Street. These services will give support during your homelessness crisis and then help you move on to use community-based services when it is appropriate.

Our Homelessness Health & Resource Services run from a purpose built unit. With clinic and treatment rooms, it is a base for the Homeless GP Practice and many of the staff who support health services for homeless people.

Contact address:
Homelessness Health & Resource Services
55 Hunter Street
Glasgow G4 0UP
Phone 0141 553 2803

Complex Needs Service In Homelessness

The Complex Needs Service provides a robust and coordinated service to individuals with multiple and complex needs based on a flexible, interdisciplinary service response, and facilitating a structured re-engagement with local mainstream services.  This short-term, interim service is for clients with needs that do not fit neatly into one group or that can be dealt with by a single service.

For more information about the Complex Needs Service including referral process please contact the service on 0141 553 2801.

Client's cannot self-refer to this service.