A bid to stop people from giving cash to homeless people on the streets and instead put it into donation points has funded help for 35 beggars in Glasgow.
Two payment points have been set up inside Central Station and others in night spot venues as part of the ‘alternative giving’ Street Change Glasgow strategy. It aims to give improve people's lives long-term so they don't need to beg.
Street begging tends to happen at Heilanman’s Umbrella, Argyle Street, Buchanan Street and Gordon Street. And people have been sleeping rough in St Vincent Street, Berkeley Street and Glasgow Green.
More locations for payment points are being considered - as a meeting heard there have been 1,600 donations at the existing points, bringing in £6,500 - despite the project starting in tandem with the pandemic.
Councillor Allan Casey, chair of the Glasgow begging strategy steering group, said the alternative giving strategy led by Simon Community Scotland was launched in March 2020.
He said: “We got a number of locations where we had the contactless payment points - Central Station being one of them.
“It has been fairly successful despite the low footfall.”
Speaking at the well being, empowerment, community and city engagement city policy committee last week, he said: “The strategy itself has received over 1,600 donations, which have totalled £6,500. "
Another £1,500 has also been donated through a Just Giving page and funding from the Best Bar None Glasgow Awards was about £4,500.
A council report said: “While the donation points in Central Station (currently at two units) have continued to draw a residual income, the other four units have suffered given their position in city centre bars or clubs. Exploration of relocating these units to more effective sites (at least temporarily) remains ongoing.”
Simon Community Scotland intend to relaunch the alternative giving Street Change Glasgow project.
The SNP’s Councillor Casey also told the meeting about other work taking place including Simon Community Scotland setting up a project called Street Support Glasgow.
It is a collaboration of more than 80 organisations working to address poverty, homelessness and other problems. Among its offerings are the provision of meals, drop-in services, accommodation and signposting.
The information was presented to the meeting as part of a presentation on the Glasgow begging strategy annual report 2021 to 2022.
