Edinburgh-based Rowan Alba were hosted to highlight the opening of Birkentree House. 

The Scottish Parliament was the venue for a special celebration of the work of Edinburgh charity, Rowan Alba, highlighting the opening of Birkentree House, which comprises 14 homes within a shared communal space.

The event was sponsored and opened by Miles Briggs MSP who praised the project for the innovative work it is doing to provide accommodation and community services to some of the most marginalised of homeless people.

Karen Barr is Rowan Alba’s chief executive, who believes the opening of Birkentree House will be the start of a new life for some women.

She said: “After many long months of waiting, 14 women are now living in their own warm, beautifully decorated, settled home at Birkentree House.

“Birkentree House offers these women a place to heal with dignity and in comfort,” said Karen.

Rowan Alba’s trained staff welcome the women into a supportive community where they can begin to move on from homelessness for good.

Rowan Alba’s approach to the issues at the root of homelessness in Scotland is based on over 20 years of work within a changing and developing field.

Karen highlighted that since the beginning of Rowan Alba’s work in 2004, the charity has strived to create and deliver solutions to homelessness which are based on their experience and understanding of people within the system, in a trauma-informed way.

Mr Briggs, who sponsored the event, supports the aims and objectives of Rowan Alba and is a member of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Housing.

Karen added: “Our team is on site 24/7 to help the women to find ways to cope with the aftermath from years of trauma and homelessness.

“We have always resisted the urge to create services which are most likely to attract funding in accordance with the latest government policy or local authority scheme and this means our services exist to serve the people behind the figures.”