David Duke says the move will further stigmatise the already vulnerable
Homelessness campaigner David Duke has slammed cuts to a homeless service in Glasgow.
Duke – whose Street Soccer organisation won Charity of the Year at this year’s Scottish Charity Awards – said scaling back services at the city’s Hamish Allan centre put homeless people at risk.
From October 24, the council-run centre, where people are assessed for a bed, will no longer be open through the night on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Homeless people who need shelter will be expected to go to Glasgow City Mission, in Crimea Street, if it is before 11pm where they will have access to social work staff.
However, after this time homeless people will be asked to call a free, emergency number.
Duke, who used to live in a homeless shelter himself, said the decision “should worry us all.”
He said: “The Hamish Allan Centre, where people go at the lowest point of their lives to look for a warm and safe bed for the night, will no longer have a person on-hand but will ask homeless people to call a telephone number for help.
“As someone with first-hand experience of homelessness, I can tell you that when you’re in that desperate situation, all you want is someone to speak to in person.
“Asking the most vulnerable people in our society to telephone a stranger in the middle of the night, whilst at their lowest point in life, will only go to further stigmatise and isolate them.
“Homeless people deserve more than this, especially with winter just around the corner.”
It comes as Glasgow City Council gradually decommissions services at the centre as part of move to a new multi-agency hub.
Shelter Scotland said it was "deeply concerned" about the provision of services for homeless people in Glasgow.
Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: “We have been deeply concerned about the provision of services to homeless people in Glasgow for a long time.
"While we agree there needs to be change some of the planned changes are raising alarm bells for us.
“Asking the most vulnerable people in our society to telephone a stranger in the middle of the night further stigmatises and isolates them - David Duke
“Winter is almost upon us and there is an urgent need for Glasgow City Council to put in place workable plans that ensure people can get emergency accommodation whether they have a working phone or not.”
And union leaders fear the loss of face-to-face contact after 11pm could create a barrier to emergency help and lead to more people sleeping on the city’s streets.
Chris Sermanni, social work convenor for Unison Glasgow, said: “They have modelled this as a pilot saying Tuesday and Wednesdays aren’t particularly busy.
“We are certainly not convinced by this.
“We are concerned that this is Glasgow City Council moving services outwith council responsibility to the third sector or private sector.
“We have raised this with management and politicians and will continue to do that because we are not buying into it.”
Earlier this year a homeless man was discovered dead in a doorway in the city’s Argyle Street after sleeping rough.
A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “The move to a multi-agency hub will help us and a growing number of partners to deliver the right services, where and when they are most needed.”
