Funding boost to help alleviate cycle of homelessness for patients leaving hospital

£7.6 million from The National Lottery Community Fund goes to Scottish groups

A new partnership project aiming to break the cycle of homelessness for patients being discharged from Glasgow’s oldest hospital will go ahead thanks to funding announced today (THURSDAY 7 DECEMBER) by The National Lottery Community Fund.

The Marie Trust receives £54,910 to pilot a 12-month hospital outreach service at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary for patients who are currently homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The charity, which supports people affected by homelessness and poverty is one of 303 community projects across Scotland sharing in over £7,690,005 from The National Lottery Community Fund.

A full list of projects is attached. [Size 283KB]

Over the next 12 months the project will be managed by Caseworker, David Brannan, 32, who will be based in the hospital. Welcoming the award, he said: “People are aware of the phrase ‘one pay check away from being homeless,’ but the reality we have found is many of us are one health condition away from homelessness.

“This funding means that I will be on hand to provide a range of support to people before and after discharge helping them to maintain their tenancy whilst in hospital or advocating for them to be given suitable temporary accommodation, linking them with local support services and providing them with a range of practical support to help them integrate back into the community again.”

Frances McKinlay, Chief Officer, The Marie Trust, said: “This partnership will be a game changer in terms of designing future services for patients, not just in Glasgow but across Scotland, who are homeless and transitioning into the community. It will provide one to one intensive support and capture the changes and challenges people experience and our response to help people cope with the cost-of-living crisis, prevent repeated homelessness and hospital presentations.”

Donogh Maguire, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI), said: “At the GRI we serve a patient population with some of the most severe levels of poverty and deprivation in Europe. To an extent we see a ‘revolving door’ of patients that we treat in terms of their clinical presentations but subsequently discharged from hospital back into the same social conditions that they come to us.

“My sense is that this situation is getting even worse and that collective action to try and mitigate the impacts of this crisis is vital. Working in partnership with The Marie Trust will enable us to address the wider well-being needs of some of our most vulnerable patients.”

Announcing the funding, Kate Still, Scotland Chair, The National Lottery Community Fund said: “This National Lottery funding will reach into communities across Scotland helping to improve the lives of hundreds of people.

“As one of the largest funders of community activity in the country we are looking to make a bigger difference in the years ahead, by listening and responding to communities and by focusing on supporting bolder change.

“The Marie Trust and its partnership with Glasgow Royal Infirmary is a great example of this as it will trial a new approach to an entrenched and complex societal issue that requires an innovative response.

“National Lottery players can be proud to know they are supporting this vital work.”

The National Lottery Community Fund distributes funding on behalf of National Lottery players who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. 

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk