Submitted by GHN on October 3, 2011 - 10:38am
2011's conference - "Fresh Ideas" - explored some exciting new developments that emerged from a range of different interests.
These developments offer change and the potential to start tackling some of the Big Questions about homelessness in our city and in our communities. 2010's conference - "The Big Questions" - identified that there remains a number of challenges, often familiar and recurring challenges, that need to be addressed in order to prevent homelessness and meet the needs of individuals and families who are affected by it.
Glasgow has traditionally seen the highest level of homelessness in Scotland, thought to be due to the size of the city and our levels of multiple deprivation and poverty. Unemployment, deprivation, mental and physical health, crime and domestic abuse are all known to increase in economic recession. All are also known trigger factors for homelessness, with a ‘lag effect’ of approximately 18-24 months predicted.
In a challenging social and economic climate, and with the 2012 target just over a year away, there was a weight of responsibility on all partners to protect the investment that Glasgow has made in tackling homelessness. There was also a weight of responsibility to make the best possible use of resources that are available, to ensure that our next steps in tackling homelessness are authentically progressive and build from learning and change.
Presentations from the conference are now available to download.
(Presentations from last year's conference - "The Big Questions" are available here)
