Wednesday 26 October 2016

Report on Glasgow's 'Rights Hubs': helping homeless people in times of crisis

Our 'Rights Hubs' are a joint initiative with Glasgow City Council welfare rights services and Govan Law Centre. We target some of Glasgow’s most vulnerable citizens who need urgent crisis intervention because they are sleeping rough or at risk of homelessness. We have published a short report about our work here (opens as PDF).

We provide our services in Glasgow City Mission and The Marie Trust in alternative weeks. We have held over 42 hubs so far, that's 168 hours of legal and welfare rights services to 263 people. At least 90% of people who come and see us get accommodated, everyone gets a benefit check and we have increased the incomes of around 250 people. This is a real difference to people's lives. 

This is a model of legal advice we have been developing for some time. Govan Law Centre has long believed it is not enough to wait for people to come to us. We need to go to them. We are continuing to look at ways to ensure our rights hubs can expand and improve. Our experience is that by providing a holistic package of services - welfare rights, financial inclusion, financial capability, money advice and housing and homelessness advice with full qualified solicitor services  at the first point of engagement - we are able to do so much more for people who really need our assistance.

These hubs have had a significant positive impact and improved the outcomes for hundreds of people in Glasgow. We hope this short report explains the work we do and gives you a flavour of the impact we are making.
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