032003 Evening Times

March 20, 2003
Evening Times
Move to get B&B families into houses
by Fred Brenton

HOLLYWOOD actor Dougray Scott today launched a project to help homeless families in Glasgow.

The scheme, the largest of its kind in Scotland, could find homes for hundreds of families.

Shelter Scotland's new Families Project aims to get families out of bed and breakfast accommodation and into regular housing.

Latest figures reveal 361 households with 484 children are living in temporary accommodation in the city

The causes range from drug and alcohol abuse to financial and family problems.

The new project offers help and support to both parents and children to tackle the trauma of homelessness.

Dougray Scott, star of Mission Impossible 2 and Enigma, was speaking at today's official opening ceremony at St Mungo's Museum.

The actor said: "Homelessness is not just an issue that affects adults but children too.

"How would you feel if your child had to leave their toys, their friends and their home?"

The project started off six months ago and now caters for its full quota of 52 families with the 10-strong team of support workers helping overcome a range of practical and emotional problems.

It helps parents find the specialist support they need, from drugs counselling to health and financial advice.

Child workers deal with the devastating effect of homelessness on children in terms of absenteeism, health problems and learning difficulties.

A similar project run by Shelter in South Lanarkshire has shown an 85% success rate in keeping families in their new tenancy a year after moving in.

Maggie McTernan, manager of the Glasgow Families Project, said: "Many parents have suffered domestic violence, mental health and drugs problems and the children have usually been badly affected by all this.

"On an emotional side we provide both parents and children with someone to talk to help solve their difficulties while on a practical side we can help organise their new homes in terms of decorating and paying bills and even help put children back in school."

Single-mother Rosie McGonigle, 34, has been under the project's care since she and her two young children became homeless four months ago. She said: "We had to move from Milton after my three-year-old son was mugged.

"The project found me a flat in Dennistoun and without it we would still be suffering from neighbourhood violence."

l Anyone who needs help from the Families Project should contact Glasgow Housing Advice Centre on 0141 221 8995 or call Shelter's 24-hour housing advice line on 0808 800 4444.