Simon Community urges Glasgow businesses to add £1 to bill to fight homelessness

Glasgow restaurant and cafe owners are being urged to add just £1 on to customer's bills to help fight homelessness this Christmas.

Simon Community have declared a homeless emergency in Glasgow, with over 30 people sleeping rough every night in the city. They also have 1000 people contact them weekly, desperate for help as rent prices soar and the cost of living continues to rise.

The situation is desperate and they are asking businesses to get behind their £1 to the bill to help generate much needed funds. Restaurant owners can automatically add an optional £1 to customer's total bill over the festive period to go to Simon Community. Last year the scheme raised over £10,000 and the charity are hoping to smash that this Christmas.

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Marie McShane from Simon Community said the situation on the streets is dire. She said: "We have declared a homelessness emergency, we are supporting more people that ever and funds are incredibly stretched.

"We are not a big organisation, we don't have a marketing team or PR agency, we are on the front line supporting those that find themselves homeless. Every penny raised will go to help homeless people living in Scotland."

The charity offer drop in services for those experiencing homelessness and have an outreach team on the streets to provide support to those sleeping rough. They also can provide moving packs for those that secure a tenancy and help make an empty house into a warm cosy home.

Despite the charity appealing for Glasgow businesses to back the £1 to the bill festive scheme, none have signed up yet. Edinburgh restaurants have and said the feedback from customers has been overwhelmingly positive.

Jade Falconer, Deputy General Manager, at Burgers and Grillhouse in Edinburgh said; “People were sleeping rough outside our door and we wanted to do something with a direct impact to help. We decided we could add £1 on to all our food bills - not each individual, but the overall bill.

“It was so simple and easy to implement, it was really positively received by staff and customers and raised an incredible £10,000. This year we are starting earlier and the initiative is being rolled out across five of the groups restaurants and we’re hoping that it will raise even more this year.”

With Simon Community hoping to raise £200,000 this year to provide direct support to homeless people, every sign up will make a huge difference.

Marie added: "We are asking for £1 on the bill over the festive period, it is not a lot of money and feedback from customers has been very positive. We can even provide support and training to staff about what Simon Community does so they can answer any questions.

"If we could get a couple of Glasgow businesses on board, it would be a huge boost for the charity. It could mean more homeless people get a Christmas care pack with gloves, scarf and hat or a warm meal to get them through a night on the streets.

"Christmas is an incredibly tough time for people experiencing homelessness and for many the Christmas pack from Simon Community could be the only gift they receive this year."

Restaurants can sign up to the £1 to the bill by emailing Marie at marie.mcshane@simonscotland.org

If you would like to make a donation to Simon Community, you can here.

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