Six months ago, just before the first Social Bite residents were about to move into the social enterprise’s village, co-founder Josh Littlejohn told The Big Issue that it felt like “there was no appetite for innovation” in the homelessness sector.
Now, the 11 cottage-style houses are almost at capacity with 17 formerly homeless people staying in Granton, Edinburgh, while they transition back into mainstream society and permanent accommodation.
And that has already seen the project turn heads – representatives from Aberdeen, Manchester and Sheffield have already enquired about how they can use the village as a “blueprint” for their own homelessness services.
It’s not just about the housing, the village also includes a community hub where residents can socialise and meet support workers from homelessness charity partner Cyrenians.
A message from Irvine Welsh…
Posted by Social Bite on Monday, October 29, 2018
Littlejohn this week told The Scotsman that the “true test” of success for the project will come when that transition into stable housing is complete.