There is a roadmap to end homelessness by 2040. Now it’s up those in power to follow it

When I started working in the homelessness sector over a decade ago, I recall feeling hopeful.

Several world-leading pieces of legislation had been introduced and signalled that things might, finally, get better for those experiencing homelessness.

Since then, sadly, Scotland has been derailed from this ambition – sometimes outwith our control, but other times through the choices made.

Homelessness remains the most extreme form of poverty, affecting thousands of people and proves that legislation alone is not enough.

Around a quarter of the population have experienced homelessness or know someone who has. In the last year, 231 people died whilst experiencing homelessness.

Rising living costs, a shortage of truly affordable homes and gaps in support are pushing more people into inhumane living situations.

From damp and cold temporary accommodation to friends’ sofas to shop doorways, these are the conditions some people live in every day.

Somewhere along the way, since I so hopefully started working to support people experiencing homelessness and whilst the intentions have been good, Scotland hasn’t achieved the ambition of reducing homelessness. In fact, it has risen.

It needn’t be that way. The road to change is possible and this week Crisis launched its new campaign to end homelessness by 2040. We presented parliamentarians across all parties with our plan.

At its core, the plans lay out the unavoidable facts of supply and demand; the only way out of the housing emergency is to build more homes.

Without sufficient supply our collaborative efforts to prevent homelessness will continue to fail and the perpetual cycle on treating the symptoms of homelessness, rather than the causes, will remain unbroken.

But bricks and mortar are not enough.

Early intervention, too, must become the norm rather than the exception. Too often, support arrives only after someone has already lost their home. Instead, we need public service reform. Systems should be designed with early intervention at the fore and offer help before people reach crisis point. That means strengthening, through investment, public services, improving coordination between national and local agencies, and providing easy to access practical and personalised support to those most at risk.

Read more:

• ‘Shocking’ number of homeless deaths in Scotland spark calls for action ahead of Holyrood elections
• Homelessness system in Scotland ‘at breaking point’ as rough sleeping surges
• First minister John Swinney: ‘We must ensure that every child in Scotland has a good place to live’

Crucially, none of this can be achieved without guaranteed, long-term funding.

This week we have given parliamentarians of all stripes the roadmap for reaching a destination where homelessness is preventable and where, if it does occur, it is rare, brief and non-recurring.

Over the next three parliaments, Scotland faces a clear choice: continue managing homelessness year after year or commit to ending it for good.

The hope I had a decade ago is slowly returning. It will stay only if those in power over the next three parliamentary terms demonstrate the ambition, bravery and action needed to change lives and our country for the better.

Maeve McGoldrick is head of policy and communications at Crisis Scotland

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