Our winter night shelter ran for 10 consecutive years as an emergency accommodation service from 1 December to 31 March. It ensured nobody needed to sleep rough in Glasgow during the coldest months of the year.
Starting on 1 December 2020 we opened a new upgraded winter project, to replace the winter night shelter, called the Overnight Welcome Centre (OWC). The OWC was hosted in a city centre hotel and for the first time we were able to offer a 24 hour a day service. Each guest had an en-suite room ensuring privacy and the ability to socially distance during the Covid-19 pandemic. We served breakfast, lunch and dinner and had staff available at all times to address individual support needs and work towards a positive accommodation outcome for guests.
We had a successful season in the OWC including helping 136 guests in the foyer, getting a solution for them immediately, so they did not have to stay with us that night. We were pleased that 87% of our guests went onto positive accommodation outcomes and our Housing Settlement officers and OWC manager are still working with those others not yet settled.
To learn more about how we ran the OWC, with the help of our partners and funders, please view our report.
