Scotland is in the grip of a housing emergency. Over 10,000 children are now trapped in temporary accommodation that is often unsuitable and harmful – a record high. A pioneering new project, bringing together organisations, campaigners and people with lived experience will drive change to end child homelessness in Scotland.
A pioneering new project, bringing together organisations, campaigners and people with lived experience will drive change to end child homelessness in Scotland.
Scotland is in the grip of a housing emergency. Over 10,000 children are now trapped in temporary accommodation that is often unsuitable and harmful – a record high. Many are placed in overcrowded accommodation far from children’s schools and support networks. More than one in four households with children in temporary accommodation have been stuck there for over a year, making it anything but temporary. The evidence is clear: the situation is getting worse, not better.
Building Hope, a joint initiative between Shelter Scotland and Fife Gingerbread and funded by the Robertson Trust, will be a catalyst for change to end child homelessness. The organisations are urging the Scottish Government to go beyond pledges, warning of a clear gap between commitments made by politicians across Holyrood and local authorities and the reality for thousands of children waking up without a home. For example, despite the legal requirement for temporary accommodation to be suitable, children experienced 1,350 breaches of the Unsuitable Accommodation Order in 2024-25, meaning their legal rights were denied.