Am I homeless?
You are homeless if:
- you have no accommodation at all
- you have somewhere to stay, but you cannot gain entry to it (for example, your landlord has changed the locks)
- you have somewhere to stay, but you are being threatened with violence (for example, by neighbours, a former partner or family member)
- you have somewhere to stay, but it is not reasonable to stay there because of overcrowding and this overcrowding is bad for your health
- you have somewhere to stay, but its poor standard means it is not reasonable for you to stay there
- you have somewhere to stay, but you do not have permission to stay there
- you are living in either B&B accommodation, a hotel, hostel or refuge
- you’ve been staying with family or friends, but they have asked you to leave
- you usually live in a mobile home (for example a caravan or boat), but there is nowhere for you to put it
I am Homeless. What next?
Glasgow City Council is delivering a homelessness casework service to anyone who is homeless, threatened with homelessness, or is in need of advice about homelessness issues, through its Community Casework Teams
There are 8 Community Casework Teams operating within the Community Health and Care Partnership boundaries. The address, telephone number, and office-opening hours of each Community Casework office have been listed for information. If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, you should call in to the office covering the area in which you are living at present. Staff will be pleased to discuss your circumstances with you in a private interview room and advise you on what will be done next to help you.
The Council also provides a homelessness service at:
The Hamish Allan Centre
180 Centre Street
Glasgow G5 8EE
This centre is open 24 hours each day of the year. There is a free telephone contact number to assist customers wishing to make enquiries.
The freephone number is 0800 838 502
Staff within the Hamish Allan Centre will provide advice and information on homelessness issues and, where necessary, arrange temporary accommodation. Arrangements will then be made for you to be seen by the appropriate Community Casework Team to manage your case.
The Hamish Allan Centre also provides assistance to people who may be unable to use their homes due to an emergency such as flooding, fire or where the building would be dangerous to live in.
How can Social Work Services help?
Our first priority is to prevent homelessness.
Whether you are a single person or live with others you may be threatened with eviction, possibly through financial or personal difficulties. Social Work Services may be able to help so the earlier you contact your local Social Work Office the greater the opportunity to help you.
We cannot guarantee evictions can be avoided. However, we will look at your circumstances sympathetically and can help you to work with the people involved in the process.
Glasgow Housing Association has an agreement to refer cases involving children, or where vulnerable adults or older people are living in the house, to Social Work Services prior to eviction action so that we can see if there is any way that we can help the situation.
Rough Sleepers Initiative
Social Work Services Inspectorate (SWSI) was asked by the Social Inclusion Division of the Scottish Executive to provide an evaluation of the impact of the Rough Sleepers Initiative in Glasgow; this evaluation was intended to assist the Glasgow Review Team (GRT) in its work.
It was undertaken between May and November 2000, and was carried out with the assistance of a consultancy team that has a range of experience of the Rough Sleepers Initiative and of carrying out research work in homelessness.
For the purposes of this review 'rough sleeping' was taken to include those people who are living on the street, who are in a hostel for homeless people (whether or not it is run by the private or statutory sectors) or who are in fragile housing circumstances that require them to make use of the services provided by those agencies funded by the Rough Sleepers Initiative.
Use this link to view the Report of a review of Rough Sleepers Initiative in Glasgow, 2001