A charity feeding homeless people in Glasgow has staged a protest outside the city chambers to urge the council to provide a building to support its work.
Homeless Project Scotland, which runs a food kitchen under Heilanman’s Umbrella, wants to move inside, with temperatures dropping as winter approaches.
Two options have been presented to the charity but it has said they are unsuitable. A council spokesman said it remains in contact with the charity but options are “limited”.
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Glasgow Labour councillors joined the charity at the protest today, and councillors tried to table an emergency motion which called for a suitable building to be found.
However, the motion was rejected as it “related to existing, and ongoing issues, which were known to members and officers prior to the deadline for motions”.
Cllr Soryia Siddique, the Labour group’s deputy leader, said she was “disappointed” the motion was rejected. “How a society treats its most vulnerable – whether children, the infirm or the elderly – is always the measure of its humanity,” she added.
Her group had said Homeless Project Scotland are “facing a winter emergency and have seen an uptake of their service and provisions increase threefold in the last two weeks, with over 270 people attending each evening”.
Cllr Siddique added: "Families are facing increasing pressure from all directions thanks to the cost of living crisis. We can see it for ourselves in the long queues outside in the streets of Glasgow for meals and support on a daily basis.”
She called for the council to “exhaust all avenues and deliver adequate accommodation urgently”.
A petition launched by the charity has collected over 500 signatures. It states: “We are calling on the council to open the doors to the Hamish Allan Centre, or something similar in the city.
“Hamish Allan Centre was once open to the homeless community in Glasgow as a place of refuge and more importantly a dignified place, where people can seek support that they require and ultimately deserve.”
A council spokesman said the former Hamish Allan Centre is “currently a dangerous building with asbestos, electrical issues and no fire safety system”.
It is “earmarked for social housing and talks are ongoing with a housing association” and it will take “significant time and investment to bring it up to standard,” the spokesman added.
He said: “We are trying to find Homeless Project Scotland suitable premises, but we have limited options for them. Two properties were offered as possibilities, but both were declined.
“Property at Cadogan Square remains available on a temporary basis for a £1 rent if they want to keep looking for something permanent in the meantime. We have asked HPS to clarify the size, location, facilities and tenure of the building they are looking for.
“Our community asset transfer scheme, People Make Glasgow Communities, could also help to identify a venue they are interested in taking on.”
The spokesman said the council remains “in regular contact” with the charity but “they should also keep reaching out to other property holders in their search for a building”.
“Everyone agrees the Heilanman’s Umbrella is not a suitable place for the support they provide.”
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